WSU softball beats Oklahoma State to open NCAA regionals

For just the second time in program history, the Wichita State softball team won a game in a NCAA Regional.

The Shockers prevailed 8-2 over Oklahoma State in their first game at the Fayetteville, Ark. regional on Friday afternoon, defeating the Cowgirls for the third time this season.

WSU (31-21) will play the winner of the Arkansas-DePaul game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. If WSU wins that, it would need just one more win on Sunday to advance to a Super Regional. With a loss, WSU would play again on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. in a must-win game to stay alive.

After its high-powered offense sputtered down the stretch of the regular season, WSU's bats came alive on Friday. The Shockers finished with a barrage of 13 hits against OSU (38-21).

Oklahoma State took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but WSU controlled the game after a four-run rally in the third inning.

Mackenzie Wright, the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, started the third inning off with a double, then scored the first run of the game for WSU with two outs. Ryleigh Buck tied the game with a RBI single and Paige Luellen gave the Shockers the lead with a 2-RBI single.

A throwing error allowed WSU to tack on two more runs in the fourth inning. Buck registered her third hit of the day with another RBI single to make it 7-2. Bailey Lange provided the final result with a RBI double in the sixth inning.

This story was originally published May 18, 2018 at 4:37 PM with the headline "WSU softball beats Oklahoma State to open NCAA regionals."