ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The No. 16 Winona State softball fell to Missouri Western 6-4 Saturday afternoon at the Griffon Softball Field in St. Joseph, Mo. The Warriors were scheduled to play a second game against Central Oklahoma, but was canceled due to snowy conditions.

The Warriors were forced to play catchup early, as a three-run first inning home run gave the Griffons an early 3-0 advantage.

WSU got on the board in the top of the second with a bases loaded RBI fielder's choice from Allyson O'Herron scored McKenna Larsen to cut the deficit to 3-1. Natalie Kalmes led off the fourth inning with a left field double and she later scored on an RBI single up the middle by Paige Keegan to briefly make it 3-2, but MWSU answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to push the lead back to 5-2.

A sacrifice fly gave the Griffons a 6-2 lead after the fifth inning before Keegan blasted a solo home run to center field to lead off the top of the sixth. The lead was cut to 6-4 later in the inning when Mariah Schultz scored on a wild pitch, but the Warriors were unable to climb back any further.

Keegan finished the day 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, while Kalmes went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Larsen (5-2) suffered the loss, twirling 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits and three earned runs with two walks and a strikeout. Alex Walker pitched 1.1 innings of hitless softball in relief.