Topeka freshman hits extra-innings, walk-off home run to lift WSU softball over AAC’s best

Against the best team in the American Athletic Conference and its most dominant pitcher, the Wichita State softball team proved its resiliency in a 4-3 victory in eight innings on Friday at Wilkins Stadium.

Freshman Lauren Mills turned on an inside fastball and sent a line drive just over the right-field fence for a walk-off home run to lift the Shockers to a thrilling extra-innings win over the conference-leading Bulls.

Making it all the more impressive, Mills’ home run came off South Florida ace Georgina Corrick, who entered with the most wins (22), strikeouts (221), shutouts (9) and hits allowed per seven innings (3.89) and lowest earned-run average (0.84) in the American.

The victory secured Wichita State’s sixth straight 30-win season under coach Kristi Bredbenner, as the Shockers improved to 30-23 overall and 11-8 in conference play. The loss snapped USF’s 15-game winning streak in AAC play, as the Bulls dropped to 38-16 overall and 16-3 in conference play.

“We’re that underdog team that I think people have counted out because we’ve lost some of our bigger players,” Bredbenner said. “But we have people stepping up and we’re playing team softball and that’s the way you want to be playing at the end of the year.”

In what is almost certainly an AAC Player of the Year season, Corrick has been nearly untouchable this season for conference teams. But the Shockers figured out the sophomore on Friday, as WSU notched a season-high 10 hits against Corrick and only struck out three times in 35 at-bats. The four earned runs on Friday were as many earned runs as Corrick has allowed in her last 11 outings, which have spanned 75⅔ innings.

Mills played the hero when she won the power-vs.-power matchup as the second batter in the eighth inning. The true freshman from Topeka Seaman was recruited by Bredbenner as a premier power bat and she was sitting on a fastball in the zone that she could drive.

Sure enough, a 1-0 offering from Corrick was left over the plate and Mills drilled it. Excitement turned into exhilaration when the ball cleared the fence by mere feet, upgrading what many thought was a double, Mills included, into the game-winning home run.

“The home run is a byproduct of what all of us do here at Wichita State University,” Mills said. “God just put the ball right there and let me have a chance to do it. Without my coaching staff, without every single one of my teammates, I couldn’t have done it.”

Her coaches and teammates knew she had game-ending power. Mills was the 2018 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year, as she finished with 15 home runs and 60 RBIs as a senior at Topeka Seaman.

So when they heard the ping of the bat, they had an inkling of where the ball might land.

“I’ve seen her hit plenty of home runs in her high school career,” Bredbenner said. “We talked a little bit before the inning about not trying to do too much, except find your barrel. Well, she did a nice job of finding her barrel and putting some power on top of that.”

“As soon as it went off the bat, I was running out of the dugout,” WSU junior Madison Perrigan said. “I knew that was gone. To see how happy she was coming home, that was just so awesome.”

Perrigan steadied the Shockers early after a rocky top of the first inning that saw USF score two runs. The junior homered for the ninth time this season, a two-run shot in the bottom-half of the inning to tie the score, 2-2, and calm the nerves.

When USF took a 3-2 lead in the third inning, WSU again had the answer in the bottom-half of the inning when senior Laurie Derrico smashed a two-out double down the left-field line to score Perrigan and again tie the score, 3-3.

WSU had a chance to add to its lead with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning, but Ryleigh Buck struck out swinging and Perrigan grounded out to end the inning. The Shockers also made a crucial play to keep the score level when Bailee Nickerson threw out a runner at home plate from left field to end the top-half of the sixth inning.

“We were so pumped up for this game,” Derrico said. “The energy in the dugout was just unreal. We were ready to go. This being my senior weekend, I just wanted to go all out since this is the last time I’ll get the chance to play on this field. We were definitely ready for them.”

The Shockers nearly won it in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases with two out. But the threat ended when freshman Adi Reese struck out swinging.

After WSU starter Caitlin Bingham managed to hand the ball off to Erin McDonald with the game tied, McDonald closed out the game with three scoreless innings to register her 13th win of the season. Freshman Sydney McKinney finished 3-for-3 at the plate, while Nickerson and Mills each finished with two hits. Perrigan delivered two RBIS and scored two runs.

For Mills, it meant more for her to help the team’s exiting seniors — Derrico, Mauriana Jamele and Bethany Canada — win on senior weekend than to be the one to hit the game-winner.

“I look up to them and I’m always with them and I try to be a little like them and try to learn from what they do,” Mills said. “I’m just a freshman, so I’ve got to get up to their level.”

After knocking off second-place Tulsa last weekend, WSU has now defeated the top two teams in the conference just before the conference tournament starting next week in Houston. The Shockers will look for the series win against South Florida at 3 p.m. Saturday at Wilkins Stadium.

WSU baseball team loses sixth straight — The Shockers couldn’t mount any offense against Connecticut’s MLB Draft prospect Mason Feole on the mound, as they lost 4-0 in Hartford, Conn. on Friday in the American Athletic Conference series opener.

It was the sixth straight loss for WSU (20-25) and the 13th loss in the last 15 games, as the Shockers dropped to 5-11 in conference play and into a tie with South Florida for last place. Connecticut improved to 28-18 overall and 8-8 in AAC play.

Feole threw seven innings, striking out 10 Shockers and limiting them to two hits. WSU’s offense finished with just three hits, but did have some scoring opportunities early in the game.

Jordan Boyer started the game with a lead-off walk, then Luke Ritter reached base on an error with one out. Paxton Wallace struck out swinging for the second out and WSU couldn’t convert with Boyer and Ritter both in scoring position, as Hunter Gibson also struck out swinging.

In the fifth inning, with UConn leading 3-0, Mason O’Brien led off with a single and advanced to second with one out. But the threat was ended when he tried to take third base on an infield grounder and was thrown out. Even then, WSU had runners on first and second but Ritter couldn’t deliver the 2-out hit.

The Shockers briefly rallied in the ninth inning, as freshman Brady Slavens started a 2-out rally with a single and Ross Cadena followed with a hit by pitch. But O’Brien struck out swinging on a full count to end the game.

WSU starter Liam Eddy toiled six innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits and four walks.

Due to predicted inclement weather, WSU will finish the series with a Saturday doubleheader with the first game starting at 11:30 a.m. Central time with the second game following around 3 p.m.

WSU softball 4, South Florida 3 (8 innings)

WP: McDonald (13-11). LP: Corrick (22-4). E: WSU, Perrigan. LOB: WSU 5, USF 9. 2B: WSU, Derrico. HR: WSU, Perrigan, Mills. SH: USF, Sheehan, Keen; WSU, Glover. SB: USF, Bruni 2, Sheehan. CS: None. HBP: WSU, Nickerson (by Corrick). Umpires: Larry Nagel, home; Perry Owens, first; Dallas Apfelbacher, third. T: 2:16. A: 354.

Connecticut 4, WSU baseball 0

WP: Feole (2-3). LP: Eddy (4-6). SV: Wallace (10). E: WSU, Boyer; UConn, Prato, Langer. LOB: WSU 8, UConn 11. 2B: UConn, Prato. SB: UConn, Toppa, Woodworth. SH: UConn, Toppa. HBP: WSU, Cadena (by Dandeneau); UConn, Toppa (by Eddy). Umpires: David Condon, home; Sal Giacomantonio, first; Manny Gonazalez, second; Matt Hensel, third. T: 2:59. A: 2,120.