KENOSHA, Wis. – The Parkside softball team celebrated Senior Day in style Sunday at Case Softball Complex, sweeping Wayne State by scores of 15-3 in five innings and 6-2.
The sweep was Parkside's first in GLIAC play this season and gave the Rangers some revenge after being swept by the Warriors earlier this year in Detroit. Parkside's offense turned in one of its best days of the season, scoring 21 runs on 19 hits across the two games. The Rangers also leapfrogged Wayne State in the conference standings, improving to 16-22 overall and 7-9 in GLIAC play.
GAME ONE (PARKSIDE 15, WAYNE STATE 3 [5 INN]):
Parkside wasted no time taking over the opener, exploding for 10 runs in the first two innings before adding five more in the third to run away with the game.
After Casey Jo Vermett worked around a first-inning jam, the Rangers erupted in the bottom half. Mia Johnson singled, Ava Swain was hit by a pitch, and Isabel Aranda launched a three-run home run to deep center to put Parkside in front 3-0. Megan Medlin followed with a single, Elodie Sullivan reached on a fielder's choice, and Reese Valha ripped an RBI double down the left-field line to make it 4-0. Taylor Utrata then tripled to right center to plate another run, and Johnson capped the inning with an RBI single through the left side for a 6-0 lead.
The Rangers stayed on the attack in the second. Medlin doubled to right center, Sullivan singled, and after a walk to CICI Di Silvio loaded the bases, Utrata drew an RBI walk. Kendall Woods followed with another RBI walk, Johnson lifted a sacrifice fly to center, and then Utrata stole home as Woods swiped second to stretch the lead to 10-0.
Parkside kept pouring it on in the third. Sullivan started the inning with a double, Valha walked and stole second, and Woods cleared the bases with a three-run triple to right center. Two batters later, Johnson crushed a two-run home run to deep center to push the Rangers in front 15-0.
Wayne State finally broke through in the fifth, scoring three times on an RBI groundout by Katelyn DeWitt and a two-run single by Sydney Long, but the damage had already been done.
Parkside finished with 12 hits and drew eight walks in the run-rule win. Johnson led the way with a huge game, going 3-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, two runs scored and a sacrifice fly. Woods drove in four as well, finishing 1-for-1 with a triple, three walks and three runs scored. Aranda went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, while Medlin collected three hits and scored once. Sullivan added a double, two hits and three runs scored, Valha doubled and drove in a run, and Utrata tripled, drove in two and scored three times.
Vermett earned the win in the circle, allowing six hits and three runs, two earned, over five innings while striking out five. Wayne State finished with six hits, with Hunter Near collecting two and Long driving in two.
GAME TWO (PARKSIDE 6, WAYNE STATE 2):
The second game was tighter, but Parkside again built an early lead and never let the Warriors recover.
Senior Ellie Curtis got the start in the circle and delivered one of her best outings of the season, earning her first win after working 5.2 strong innings. She kept Wayne State off the board through the first five innings and worked out of multiple jams before the Warriors finally scratched across two runs in the sixth.
The Rangers struck first in the bottom of the first. Mia Johnson was hit by a pitch, Isabel Aranda singled, and after both runners moved up on a wild pitch, Elodie Sullivan delivered a two-run single that was helped along by a Wayne State error in right field, giving Parkside a 2-0 lead.
Parkside doubled that lead in the third. Ava Swain reached on an error by the center fielder, and Aranda followed by blasting a two-run home run to deep right for a 4-0 advantage.
The Rangers added two more solo shots in the fourth. Utrata led off the inning with a home run to left, and Johnson followed later in the frame with an absolute moonshot to deep left to make it 6-0.
Wayne State finally got on the board in the sixth when Hunter Near singled home a run and another scored on a wild pitch. That trimmed the margin to 6-2 and brought the tying run into the on-deck circle, but Melanie Andrysiak came on in relief and shut the door. She recorded the final four outs to earn her second save of the season.
Parkside totaled seven hits in game two. Aranda again led the offense, going 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored and a walk. Johnson added a homer and scored twice, Sullivan drove in two with her first-inning single, and Utrata homered and scored once. Medlin and Di Silvio also recorded hits.
Curtis earned the win after allowing nine hits and two earned runs over 5.2 innings. She walked three and kept Wayne State from capitalizing until late. Andrysiak finished it off with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Wayne State finished with 10 hits in game two, getting three from Ellery Garver and two from Molly Hool, but Parkside's pitching made the key pitches when it mattered most.
The sweep gave Parkside a huge lift to close its eight-game homestand. The Rangers celebrated their three seniors with a dominant offensive day, got a breakout win in the circle from Curtis, and moved ahead of Wayne State in the GLIAC standings with their first conference sweep of the season.
Parkside will hit the road next weekend to continue the second half of conference play, beginning Saturday, April 18, at Purdue Northwest.
To keep up with the Rangers, be sure to visit parksiderangers.com/coverage.
