WAYNE, Neb. - Minnesota State softball (35-15, 19-5 NSIC) split its lone double header in week five of the NSIC season on the road at Wayne State (26-19, 11-10 NSIC) on Friday.

In game one, the Mavericks took advantage of some Wildcat errors to go up 5-0, but WSC responded quickly with a four run-inning to cut into the lead. Wayne State's Maddie Scobee smacked a three-run homer over the fence to give the Wildcats a lead they did not relinquish. WSC took game one, 7-6.

A two-run homer from senior third baseman Cheyenne Behrends got the Mavericks on the board in game two, both in the hits and runs categories. Wayne State scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth, but a five-run waterfall of scores in the top of the sixth swung the lead back in the favor of Minnesota State. Catcher Ella Schulz hit the go-ahead RBI in that sixth inning, then put another run on the board in the seventh for Minnesota State. 

Game 1 at Wayne State: L, WSC 7, MSU 6

W: Kennadi Borngrebe (13-6) L: Brianne Stone (11-5) S: Sami Felt (6)

After a hitless first inning, Maddie Helin and Gianna Lara drew lead off walks in the second for the Mavericks' first two base runners of the game. A fielding error in the infield on a sacrifice bunt attempt from freshman Hannah Tong loaded the bases with nobody down. The Wildcats turned two on a pop-up to the infield that caught Tong off the bag at first. MSU left fielder Kustryn Patnode put the Mavericks on the board with a hit to second that was fumbled and rolled into the outfield, which allowed both Helin and Lara to score to put Minnesota State up 2-0.

MSU starting pitcher Brianne Stone struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the second, including a 12-pitch strikeout looking before a fly out sent game one to the third inning. Lead-off bat and starting second baseman Carly Kimmes drew a walk to kick off the third inning and a sacrifice bunt moved her to second base with one down. Her fellow middle infielder, Izzy Hycnar, promptly singled to right field, which led to Kimmes to round third and head home. She was caught in a pickle, but was narrowly able to score past the outstretched glove of the Wildcat catcher. The sophomore shortstop advanced to third on the throw and a double from Helin brought her home to put Minnesota State up 4-0 with just one down in the top of three.

A single off the bat of Lara down the right field line allowed Helin to score. A grounder and a foul out ended the inning, but the Mavericks had added three more runs to its total. MSU led 5-0.

Wayne State's Haylee Weber got the first base hit for the Wildcats in the bottom of the third on a single to left center. She advanced to second and a bunt single put runners on first and second for the first WSC scoring threat of the game. Stone wrung up the next batter, but walked the next to load the bases. Emilee Marth doubled to left centerfield, which put two on the board for the home team. An RBI single from Kennedy Borngrebe crossed a third runner across home and a fielder's choice scored another run to make it a 5-4 game headed to the fourth inning.

Speedy senior Marina Carter drew a walk with one out, then she moved to third on a single from Kimmes to put two in scoring position for the Mavericks. A strikeout and a ground out ended the inning with the scoreboard unchanged. The score remained 5-4.

After a 1-2-3 inning for the Wildcat offense, Tong hit a two-out single to right field after drawing the count full. Fellow freshman Ryanne Mellum smacked a single to right center which let Tong advance to third. A wild pitch moved the catcher to second base, then Patnode singled to center, scoring Tong. Mellum was thrown out trying to score, but the Mavericks got an insurance run, 6-4.

Leah Chance hit a one-out double down the line in left in the bottom of the fifth. A walk put two on, but Stone struck out the next batter for out number two. Wayne State's Maddie Scobee hit a three-run homer to left center to give the Wildcats their first lead off the ballgame, 7-6. 

Kimmes hit a one-out single with a full count in the top of six, then she stole second for her team-leading 22nd stolen bag of the season. Hycnar drew a walk after a nine-pitch at bat, but a foul out ended the scoring chance for MSU.

A walk with one out and a single with two put runners on the corners in the bottom of the sixth for WSC, but a groundout retired the side for the Maverick defense. In the top of the seventh, Lara led off with a four-pitch walk. After Ireland Broderick pinch ran for Lara and a batter's interference call, she advanced to second on a wild pitch, then Mellum drew a walk to put two on the base pads. A strikeout called put the Mavericks down to their final out and a groundout ended the game. Wayne State took game one 7-6.

Stone earned the loss in game one. She allowed seven earned runs and seven hits in five innings. She struck out five Wildcat batters. 

Kimmes ended the game with two hits and one run in the first game against WSC. Hycnar, Helin, Lara and Patnode all had RBI base hits. 

Game 2 at Wayne State: W, MSU 9, WSC 3

W: Sailor Hall (11-5) L: Sammi Felt (4-5)

The Mavericks threatened right away in the first inning of game two. Kimmes drew a lead off walk, then Behrends reached on an error. The two MSU baserunners advanced a base on a wild pitch. A pair of strikeouts and a fly out to the outfield ended the early scoring chance for Minnesota State.

Wayne State led off the bottom of the first with a pair of singles to put runners on first and second, which was followed by a throwing error that loaded the bases with nobody out. A single up the middle from Borngrebe scored the first run of the game and kept the bases loaded. Catcher Ella Schulz stepped on home plate with the ball for a force out at home, then Sophia Del Vecchio struck out the next batter for out number two. A groundout back to the pitcher ended the inning, but WSC had taken a 1-0 lead.

After a scoreless second inning, Kimmes was hit by a pitch to put a runner on. Behrends followed her up with a two-run homer smacked over the fence in left center to give the Mavericks their first lead of game two, 2-1. It was her third home run of the season, the 17th of the senior third baseman's career.

Scobee reached on a two-out single in the bottom of the third and a walk put a second runner on the bases for Wayne State. A line out hit to Patnode in left field sent game two to the fourth inning.

The Mavericks could not bring anyone across after a lead off walk in the fourth, then in the bottom frame, the lead off batter was hit by a pitch, then Lauren Laudick singled to right to tie game two, 2-2. Chance singled up the middle after a line out to take the lead back for Wayne State. Sailor Hall came in to pitch for Minnesota State, and she secured the final two outs, but the Wildcats had taken a 3-2 lead. 

Kimmes was hit by another pitch in the top of the fifth and she moved to second with another stolen base, her 23rd of the season, but a strikeout and a ground out ended the opportunity. A lead off walk allowed the Maverick defense to turn a 6-4-3 double play for the first two outs of the bottom frame of the fifth inning and a grounder to Behrends at third ended the inning. 

The sixth inning was largely consequential in game two. Helin hit a lead off single in the top of the sixth inning, then Lara reached on a fielding error to put two on. Tong followed them up with an RBI single through the left side that score Helin and moved Lara to third. Schulz hit the go-ahead RBI single to left, which scored Lara and put the Mavericks back up, 4-3. After a fielder's choice secured out number one, an infield single off Carter's bat loaded the bases for Kimmes. She singled between short and third to drive in two runs, then a ground out hit by Behrends drove in another. A five-run inning for the Maverick offense gave the team a 7-3 lead headed to the bottom of six. 

A walk, a fielder's choice and a single put two runners on with two down in the bottom of the sixth for WSC. A lineup sharply hit to Carter in centerfield ended the sixth and sent game two to its final inning.

Lara reached on a fielding error in the top of the seventh, then Tong singled down the right field line to put runners on the corners with one out. Schulz hit her second RBI single in as many innings to center, which scored the eighth run of the game for Minnesota State and kept runners on first and third. Patnode grounded out to put the Mavericks up 9-3, then a grounder back to the pitcher ended the frame, as MSU held a six-run lead headed to the bottom of the seventh.

Hall struck out the first batter of the final frame, which was followed by a ground out for out number two. Down to their last out, the next Wildcat hitter reached on an error, then a double put two in scoring position for Wayne State, but a fly out to center ended the game. Minnesota State split with a 9-3 win in game two.

Both Tong and Schulz had two-hit games for Minnesota State in game two. Schulz drove in two RBI and Tong drove in one. Behrends led the way for MSU with three RBI in game two. Kimmes and Patnode also drove in one run. Despite not getting a hit in the second game against WSC, Lara scored two runs.

Hall earned the win for the Mavericks in relief. She allowed just four hits and no runs in 3.2 innings of work. She struck out two.

"The bats came alive in game two in the sixth and seventh innings where we put up seven runs, nine total on the game," said Minnesota State head coach Lori Meyer postgame. "Tong, Schulz, Kimmes and Patnode each had key RBI in the those key innings. Behrends also had a big home run in the game."

The Mavericks have the rest of the weekend off. The team will close out its regular season with a pair of double headers at home next weekend against the top team in the NSIC, Augustana () and Southwest Minnesota State (). Those four games will be played at noon and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 at the MSU Softball Diamond in Mankato.