ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Parkside opened the 2025 GLIAC Softball Tournament in emphatic fashion on Thursday, cruising to an 8-0 five-inning shutout over Wayne State at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois. The Rangers jumped all over the Warriors in the opening frame and never looked back.

Parkside wasted no time getting on the board, erupting for seven runs in the bottom of the first inning. The offense showcased patience and discipline at the plate, drawing six walks and capitalizing on a costly error by Wayne State. Mia Johnson started the inning by working a walk, and Haley Remington followed with a perfectly placed bunt single. A wild pitch and a throwing error by the catcher brought home the first two runs, and Parkside continued to pile on. Megan Medlin laced a double to left field to make it 3-0, then came around to score when Eden Welling and Jadyn Polerecky drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks. Reese Valha added an RBI fielder's choice to bring in another run, and Remington capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to deep second base that plated the seventh run.

Parkside's offense wasn't finished, as Medlin added the exclamation point in the fourth inning with a solo home run to left field—her fifth of the season. She finished the day 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Remington was also a spark plug at the top of the lineup, going 2-for-2 with a double, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Johnson, Toni Rodriguez, and Welling each added hits for the Rangers, who made the most of their seven total hits by turning them into eight runs.

While the offense was busy lighting up the scoreboard, Ellie Curtis took care of business in the circle. The junior right-hander was in full command, scattering four hits over five shutout innings to improve to 8-3 on the season. She struck out two and walked just two, inducing soft contact and keeping Wayne State off balance throughout the game. Curtis worked around minor threats in the first and fourth innings but never allowed a runner to reach third base, closing the game in the fifth to secure the run-rule win.

Defensively, Parkside was clean and efficient, committing no errors while turning in several sharp plays behind Curtis.

The win improves Parkside to 25-22 overall and sets up a marquee matchup on Friday morning against the GLIAC's top seed, Saginaw Valley State. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. back at Parkway Bank Sports Complex. Links to live coverage can be found at ParksideRangers.com/coverage.