The Wayland softball team cleared an important hurdle Wednesday afternoon by taking out O-K Gold Conference rival South Christian twice.
The Lady Wildcats swept a doubleheader 12-2 and 16-1 to prove once again they’re the team to beat in the league.
Junior hurler Madi Ludema handcuffed the Sailors in the first game, allowing six hits and just one earned run over five innings. She walked none and struck out four.
Harmony Laker and Kaylee Lown provided some offensive fireworks, both with a triple, and Ludema and Shelby VanHouten cracked a double. As a team, Wayland collected 11 hits.
The Lady Wildcats pounded out 16 hits in game two to turn the nightcap into a rout. Ludema and Van Houten both lashed out a couple of doubles, Laker and Maddie Jordan both had one two-bagger. Ludema also delivered a triple, as did Lown.
Laker hurled the first four innings and gave up only one earned run on four hits, walking one and striking out two. Mackenzie Kositzky came on relief in the fifth inning and faced only four batters.
The victory lifted coach Cheri Ritz’s squad’s record overall this season to 7-2, with their only losses to state-ranked opponents Jenison and Escanaba. The ‘Cats now are 2-0 in the defense of their O-K Gold championship from last year.
