EMPORIA, Kan. – No. 7 Winona State University picked up where it left off last week by opening the Emporia State St. Patrick's Day Classic with two more wins to extend its current winning streak to 16 in a row.
The Warriors began Friday by outlasting Missouri Southern State University in eight innings, 2-1, and followed that with a 7-1 triumph over (RV) University of Central Oklahoma.
Mariah Schultz's RBI-single in the top of the eighth frame finally broke the scoring seal in extra innings against Missouri Southern State. Lani Van Zyl followed with a clutch run-scoring single to make it a two-run ballgame which proved to be an important insurance run for the Warriors.
The Lions scratched the plate once in the bottom of the eighth, but McKenna Larsen stood tall in the pitching circle for Winona State with her fourth complete game victory of the season. The senior needed just 85 pitches over 8.0 IP to notch her sixth win of the year. Larsen (6-2) allowed one unearned run on five hits.
In game two of the afternoon, Jordyn Kleman (6-0) went the distance for the sixth time this year. The sophomore scattered six hits and struck out four batters while allowing just one run or less for the fifth time this season.
The Warrior bats did plenty to support Kleman in the circle by plating seven runs on 12 hits. Alison Nowak, Rylee Stout and Jen Giesey each drove in a pair of runs for Winona State.
Carly Kordich recorded an RBI-groundout to drive home the first WSU run of the game in the second inning, and Giesey stretched the Warrior lead to 2-0 in the third frame.
Schultz doubled to lead off the fifth inning and two batters later, Stout followed with a two-out RBI-double of her own. Giesey added an RBI-single before the inning came to an end to give the Warriors a 4-0 advantage.
The Bronchos plated their lone run of the ballgame in the bottom of the fifth. The Warriors answered with three more runs in the top of the sixth to cap their big offensive effort on the day.
Winona State (19-2) is set for two more games at the Emporia Classic on Saturday afternoon against Pittsburg State University and Northeastern State University.
