FAYETTE, Iowa – The No. 16 Winona State softball team earned a split on the road at Upper Iowa to open the NSIC slate Tuesday afternoon in Fayette. The Warriors won game one 4-3 before falling 3-0 in the nightcap.

GAME ONE: WSU 4, Upper Iowa 3

Game one was a back-and-forth affair, but a Chelsey Rodenkirch two-run home run to right center in the fifth inning proved to be the difference, lifting the Warriors to a 4-3 lead and the eventual final score.

WSU fell behind early as an RBI double in the first inning gave Upper Iowa a 1-0 lead. The Warriors answered back in the bottom of the third when Natalie Kalmes doubled to right center to score Rodenkirch and Jamee Schleis and move in front 2-1. The Peacocks scored two of their own in the fourth to briefly retake the lead, but Rodenkirch's home run in the following inning put the Warriors up for good.

Rodenkirch and Kalmes each had 2 RBI for the Warriors, who managed just five hits in the game compared to nine for UIU.

Hanna Lythberg improved to 10-2 in the circle, allowing two earned runs and scattering nine hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

GAME TWO: Upper Iowa 3, WSU 0

The Warriors were shut out for the third time this season in game two, as a pitchers' duel through five and a half innings finally went the way of the Peacocks.

Locked in a scoreless battle, Upper Iowa broke through with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. The first run scored unearned due to back-to-back WSU errors. But Upper Iowa padded the narrow lead shortly after with a two-run home run to left field to move ahead to the 3-0 final score.

Natalie Kalmes, Paige Keegan, Mariah Schultz and Jordan Peterson each recorded a hit for the Warriors.

Alex Walker (4-2) picked up the loss despite allowing just three hits in six innings along with five strikeouts.

Winona State (19-6) is scheduled to host Bemidji State and Minnesota Crooskton on Friday and Saturday in Winona. Check back to winonastatewarriors.com for any weather-related announcements.