Late home run propels WSU softball past No. 11 Oklahoma State as Shockers break slump
When you’re in a slump, sometimes you have to take a chance to snap out of it.
For Wichita State junior Neleigh Herring, who entered Tuesday’s game in a 1-for-21 slump the past nine games, she was willing to try a new mindset at the plate in crucial situation — a tied game in the bottom of the sixth inning against No. 11 Oklahoma State at Wilkins Stadium.
“I usually don’t see a lot of in pitches, so I usually start every at bat looking out and then reacting in,” Herring explained. “Then I got two inside pitches at the start of the at bat, so then you go, ‘OK, I’m going to look in here.’
“Before that last pitch, I was like, ‘You know what? What’s probably going to happen is she’s going to throw it out and I’m going to take it, but I’m going to look in anyways.’”
Herring’s guess paid off, as she was prepared for the low and inside fastball that she turned on and sent far over the right-field fence for a solo shot that proved to be the game-winning run in WSU’s 3-2 victory over the 11th-ranked Cowgirls. It was a slump-busting performance by Herring, who finished 3-for-3 at the plate.
More importantly, it was a slump-busting win for a WSU team that lost four of five games last week and saw its first-place lead in the American Athletic Conference slip away. The Shockers (34-9-1, 15-4-1 American) picked up their sixth top-25 win of the season and some positive momentum entering a decisive, season-ending, four-game conference series against first place Tulsa (21-10, 12-3 American).
“It was a big win and a win that we needed,” WSU coach Kristi Bredbenner said. “We didn’t play well this past weekend. I think we needed this to get our heads right for this weekend and get that confidence back that we know we’re a good team and we can come out and compete like we did (Wednesday).
“This is our team. This is who needs to play this weekend in Tulsa.”
It was a familiar formula for the Shockers in their second win over Oklahoma State this season: good pitching, good defense and the long ball.
Senior ace Bailey Lange registered her latest complete game to improve to 17-5 in the circle this season. Lange said she focused on keeping balls low to induce ground balls, which led to 14 groundouts and error-less defense from the Shockers. The two times Lange made a mistake, Oklahoma State capitalized with back-to-back home runs — other than that, Lange silenced OSU’s attack.
“They’re really good hitters, so I knew I had to keep the ball low,” Lange said. “I needed to pound the zone, keep it low and then make them chase my change-up.”
WSU took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when sophomore Sydney McKinney hit her sixth home run of the season off OSU ace Carrie Eberle, who is 16-1 this season with a 0.84 earned run average. McKinney is on pace to break the school record for batting average, as she is hitting .439 at the plate this season.
With the score tied 2-2 in the sixth inning, the Shockers once again used the long ball when Herring hit her ninth homer of the season. WSU has now hit 81 home runs on the season, which is third-most in the country.
“It was a little bit of a relief because I finally feel like I’m seeing the ball well and hitting the ball well,” said Herring, who is still hitting .385 for the season despite her recent slump. “It’s always a great feeling knowing I’m helping my team. I knew (Lange) was going to do what she does and our defense is going to play well, so after that (home run), I was like, ‘Oh, we got this. We’re going to win this game.’ It was a great feeling.”
This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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