MANKATO, Minn. – The Winona State baseball team put together a four-run fifth inning to open up a big lead in the second game of a doubleheader against No. 3 Minnesota State. The Warriors earned an 8-5 victory in that second game to salvage a split in Mankato on Saturday.
 
Senior first baseman Travis Evanson had a huge game for Winona State (21-28, 19-17 NSIC), going 2-for-5 with a three-run homer in the first inning and launching a vital RBI double in the Warriors' four-run fifth inning. Evanson finished the game with four RBIs and two runs scored.
 
The Warriors kept it close in the first game, but the Mavericks, the second-rated team in the Central Region held off a late Winona State rally to win the first game 4-2.
 
In the first game, Minnesota State pounced on the lead with an RBI single in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
 
The Warriors rallied right back in the second inning. After Taylor Field hit a two-out double to right center, catcher Nathan Krause knocked him home on an RBI single through the right side to tie the game up at 1-1.
 
The Mavericks got the lead right back in the bottom of the third on a two-run home run and added an insurance run in the fifth inning on an RBI single to stretch the MSU lead to 4-1.
 
Winona State wouldn't go down without a fight as Mitchell Heid reached on a leadoff double in the seventh inning and scored two batters later when Krause drove him home on an RBI groundout.

However, the Mavericks retired the final Warrior batter to escape with the 4-2 victory.
 
Despite a good outing, Lucas Crimmins took the loss for the Warriors, dropping to 2-5 on the season after pitching six innings and giving up four earned runs on six hits with a walk and a strikeout.
 
Krause led the Winona State bats with a 1-for-3 performance and driving in both runs.
 
With the Warriors in danger of being swept by the Mavericks, Winona State rallied in a big way in the final game of the doubleheader. The Winona State offense exploded in scoring eight runs on 12 hits in an 8-5 victory.
 
This time, Winona State got the offense going immediately to start the game. With runners on first and second and two out, Evanson launched a three-run home run to give the Warriors the early 3-0 advantage.
 
Minnesota State rallied back in the second inning with a two-RBI single to cut the Winona State lead to 3-2.
 
However, the Warriors were able to push the lead to five after a strong four-run fifth inning. After Andrew Geislinger singled to lead off the fifth inning, Tyler Nehring drove him home on an RBI double to left center to make it a 4-2 ballgame. Jesus Cazares was hit by a pitch in the following at-bat, allowing Evanson to come to the plate and add another run on a double to left center to score Nehring and move Cazares to third.
 
Two batters later, Mitch Voter made it 6-2 on an RBI single to right and Field added one more on an RBI single in the next at-bat to stretch the Warriors lead to five.
 
The Warriors added an insurance run in the sixth inning on a Cazares RBI single to center, scoring Geislinger from second to expand WSU's lead to 8-2.
 
The Mavericks rallied back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth and a run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 8-5.
 
However, the Warriors closer Mitch Voter shut the door on the Mavericks by pitching two shutout innings in the eighth and ninth innings to pick up his sixth save of the season. Voter allowed just one hit in the final two innings in picking up the save and lowered his season ERA to 0.46.
 
Winona State used a different strategy in taking down the Mavericks in the second game, as they used five different relief pitchers instead of a starter. Junior Dan Lohff picked up the win by pitching three innings in relief, giving up no runs on two hits with no walks and a strikeout.
 
Along with Evanson's two-hit four RBI game, the Warriors had six different batters with at least two hits. Cazares, Evanson, Field, Geislinger, Nehring, and Voter all recorded two hits for the Warriors in the game.
 
With the split, the Warriors recorded their 10th consecutive season with a winning record in NSIC play and earned the seventh seed for the NSIC/US Bank Tournament.
 
Winona State will have a quick turnaround against Minnesota State, as the Mavericks earned the NSIC's second seed and two teams will be re-matched with each other in the first round of the NSIC Tournament. The Warriors will take on the Mavericks on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Sioux Falls Stadium in Sioux Falls.