WINONA, Minn. - Mother Nature has yet again caused Winona State to alter its schedule and host games that were originally scheduled to be played on the road. The Warriors will now host Minnesota Crookston at Loughrey Field on Thursday-Friday rather than a weekend road series with the Golden Eagles serving as the home team in Winona.Winona State (5-12, 4-6 NSIC) looks to rebound from being swept Tuesday against Minnesota Crookston (10-13, 0-8 NSIC) who is seeking its first conference win.

NOTES

EARLIER THIS WEEK: The Warriors ran into two of the NSIC's best pitchers Tuesday afternoon against Minnesota State. Winona State hit game one starter Dalton Roach pretty hard early on but were unable to get anything across until the fourth inning. By that time the Mavericks had built a seven-run cushion and a late Warrior comeback effort wasn't enough as Winona State lost 7-4. A costly error in the third inning of game two sparked a four-run Maverick rally that put the Warriors behind early. Minnesota State pitcher Aaron Rozek held Winona State to only two runs on four hits as they defeated the Warriors 15-2 in game two of the twinbill.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Minnesota Crookston comes into this weekend's matchup winless in conference play. In their most recent series, the Golden Eagles were swept by Minot State, 7-6 and 9-5. Minnesota Crookston is batting a combined .268 and its pitching staff has posted a 5.55 ERA so far this season. Junior first baseman Reed Hjelle leads the Golden Eagles with a .389 batting average. He is in the top 10 in the conference in slugging percentage (.611) and leads the conference in doubles (9). Right-hander Parker Hanson leads the UMC starting staff with a 3.25 ERA in 36.0 IP, striking out 29 batters while walking only nine.

PITCHING PROWESS: Sophomore Caleb Schoenholz leads the Warriors in innings pitched (24.2 IP) and strikeouts (18). The southpaw is averaging 6.57 strikeouts per start and has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.6. In his most recent outing against Sioux Falls, Schoenholz tossed his first career complete game while striking out a career-high eight batters. Over his last two starts the left-hander has allowed two runs over 14.0 IP to go along with 15 strikeouts. Freshman Dillon Whittaker has already notched two wins in his young career. The right-hander has won each of his last two outings striking out six apiece. In four appearances, Whittaker has struck out 15 batters and surrendered just 1.75 walks per game.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Warriors are 5-1 this season when allowing five runs or less to their opponent, and undefeated (4-0) when allowing three runs or less. Winona State has outscored its opponents in the first inning of games this year, 12-8, but has been outscored by the opposition, 28-0, in the eighth and ninth inning of ballgames.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman Zac Stange was inserted into the leadoff spot in the Warrior lineup on opening day and has been consistent ever since. The lefty leads the team in runs scored (13) and on base percentage (.406). He is also fourth on the team in batting average (.293), second in slugging percentage (.414) and RBIs (8) and tied for the team lead in home runs (2).

YOUNG LEADER: Sophomore Sam Kohnle has asserted himself as a leader in the Warrior lineup. He was tabbed as the NSIC "Player to Watch" and has lived up to that standard leading the team with .354 average through the first 17 games of the season. The first baseman has collected 23 hits in 65 at bats, driving in a team high nine runs.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Warriors have been comfortable at the friendly confines of Loughrey Field in recent years. Since 2010, the team has gone 93-53 (.645) at home and looks to continue that trend as they close out the week against the Golden Eagles.