Wichita Standard

Shockers Extend Win Streak to Nine; McKinney’s Hit Streak Ends

Wichita State picked up two more wins on the first day of the Black & Yellow Challenge with victories over Western Illinois (8-0) and Bradley (4-1) Saturday at Wilkins Stadium.

Wichita State picked up two more wins on the first day of the Black & Yellow Challenge with victories over Western Illinois (8-0) and Bradley (4-1) Saturday at Wilkins Stadium.

Wichita State ran its win streak to nine in the process to improve to 14-3 overall this season.

Sydney McKinney pushed her hit streak to 34 with a three-hit game in the opener vs. Western Illinois, but was held hitless in the nightcap, going 0-for-4. Her 34-game hit streak finishes as the sixth-longest in NCAA history.

Game 1 vs. Western Illinois

McKinney went 3-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored against the Leathernecks. Lauren Lucas drove in three runs behind a single and a triple. Lainee Brown had a pair of hits, including a home run and two RBI and Sami Hood registered her second career multi-hit game, going 2-for-3.

Lauren Mills belted her fourth home run of the season and Zoe Jones added a double.

Alex Aguilar (4-1) allowed only two hits in 6.0 innings. She struck out two and walked none in the complete game shutout.

McKinney opened the bottom of the first with a leadoff triple and immediately came in to score on Lucas' RBI single. Bailey Urban tacked on one more on a sac fly to center.

Wichita State made it 5-0 in the second behind a two-run triple off the bat of Lucas and a Jones RBI double down the third base line.

Brown upped the margin to seven in the third on her two-run homer and then Mills' ended the game in the sixth with a walk-off solo home run.

Game 2 vs. Bradley

Lauren Howell (6-1) was lights out in the circle, earning her team-best sixth win of the season. She allowed just one unearned run on one hit to go with two strikeouts. The lone run came across on a two-base throwing error.

Five different Shockers recorded a hit in the game, as they were held to just the five total. Jones, Mills, Hood, Brown and Taylor Sedlacek all collected a hit. Jones' lone hit was a solo home run, while Hood drove in two on a single.

Bradley grabbed the early 1-0 lead in the second after a leadoff single. A sac bunt by the next batter turned into a run on a throwing error from Hood trying to get the runner advancing to third.

Howell would not allow a baserunner the rest of the night.

Held scoreless through the first 3.0 innings, Jones finally got Wichita State on the board in the fourth on a solo shot to right. It marked her team-leading seventh home run of the season.

Two Bradley errors with two outs in the fifth led to three Wichita State runs. After Sedlacek scored on the first error, Hood made the Braves pay with a two-run single. That would prove to be the final margin of 4-1.

Original source can be found here.