EMPORIA, Kan. – No. 7 Winona State University recorded its 17th consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon before Northeastern State University halted the Warriors' prolonged winning streak with an 8-0 setback.
The Warriors won their first game of the afternoon at the St. Patrick's Day Classic over Pittsburg State University, 9-3, before being shutout by Northeastern to conclude the day.
Winona State scored in bunches against the Gorillas, plating five runs in the first inning and four in the fourth frame. The Warriors connected on three long balls in the victory, including a pair off the bat of Rylee Stout.
Katelyn Kolb walked to lead off the bottom of the first inning, and after a Pittsburg error, Lani Van Zyl launched her team-leading seventh home run of the season for an early 3-0 lead. Three batters later, Stout lifted a two-run homer to center field to give Winona a 5-0 advantage.
The Gorillas plated a pair of runs off Warrior starter McKenna Larsen in the top of the third inning before the Winona bats got back to work in the fourth frame. Alison Nowak kept the inning going with a two-out RBI-single, and Larsen followed with a single to put a pair of runners on base. Stout was next with a three-run blast, her second homer of the day, to stretch the Warrior lead to 9-2.
Ann Smolenski added a 2-for-3 effort at the plate for Winona State.
Larsen (7-2) allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits over 7.0 IP for her fifth complete game victory of the season. The senior struck out a season-best six batters.
Jordyn Kleman (6-1) suffered her first loss of the season in the circle for Winona State against Northeastern. The sophomore allowed seven runs on 10 hits over 4.1 IP. Katie Schlegel allowed one run on three hits over 2.2 IP of relief work to close the ballgame.
The RiverHawks circled the bases for three home runs in the upset win, scoring all eight runs on extra-base hits. Northeastern's 13 hits were the most surrendered by the Warrior pitching staff in a game this year.
On the other side of the dish, the Warrior bats went cold in game two, recording just one hit in the loss. Northeastern's Gail Young no-hit Winona State until the seventh inning when Van Zyl reached on an infield single.
Winona State (20-3) returns to the diamond for its final game of the weekend to face tournament host Emporia State University on Sunday at 12 p.m.
