WINONA, Minn. – Winona State University swept Upper Iowa University in convincing fashion under picturesque blue skies on Thursday afternoon at Loughrey Field. The Warrior bats erupted for 20 runs on 25 hits as WSU has outscored its opponents 58-18 over the course of its current six-game home winning streak.
Winona State (12-13, 11-7, NSIC) began its offensive outburst with a 13-2 triumph in game one and followed that with a 7-1 victory in game two to secure the sweep over Upper Iowa (8-13, 6-9 NSIC).
Warrior starters Dillon Whittaker (4-0) and Austin Savary (3-0) each earned wins in their respective starts to remain undefeated this season on the mound.
Whittaker struggled to command the strike zone early in the opener as he walked the first batter in each of his first three innings. The right-hander settled down after that and went on to complete five innings while allowing just two runs on five hits.
Upper Iowa struck first in game one, but the Warriors quickly answered as Tanner Williams sent the first pitch of the Winona State second inning deep over the right field wall to tie the ballgame at 1-1.
With two out in the bottom of the fourth and the Peacocks up by one, the Warriors strung together four straight hits to manufacture three runs and take a 4-2 lead.
The Peacocks threatened to tie the game in the top of the fifth, but Whittaker worked out of a jam, stranding two runners in scoring position to conclude his outing.
In the bottom of the fifth, the floodgates would open as the Warriors sent 12 men to the plate and scored eight runs. The Winona rally all started with a fielder's choice off the bat of Sam Kohnle. Taylor Field followed with a double to score Andrew Pliner for the first of eight runs in the inning as the Warriors chased Peacock starter Colin Lacey from the hill.
Upper Iowa would need two more pitchers to get the Warriors out in the fifth, as Winona State loaded the bases and then cleared them before completing the eight-run inning.
Caleb Schoenholz and Jacob Watzka each threw a flawless inning in relief to close out the game one win.
Savary threw seven solid innings in game two, giving up four hits and striking out three. His only blemish came in the top of the first when he surrendered the lone Peacock run of the contest.
In similar fashion to game one, Aaron Mutter and Nicolas Herold each worked an inning in relief putting a cap on the Warrior sweep.
Winona State spread the offensive production throughout the lineup in the finale.
In the first inning, Field doubled home Kohnle for the Warriors first run of the game. In the second, Derek Martin would hit a sacrifice fly scoring Chad Herbst. When the fourth inning rolled around, Kipp Youngquist scored the Warriors' third run of the game after Pliner reached first on an error. Later in the inning, Kohnle beat a throw to first base to prevent an inning-ending double play that allowed Martin to cross home plate.
In the fifth, Youngquist completed his five-hit day with a double down the left field line that scored Nick Nalawanski and Herbst. Youngquist collected five hits in seven at-bats with five RBI and three runs scored over the course of the doubleheader.
Finally, Pliner added another run in the sixth on a solo shot to right to cap the scoring for Winona State.
With more inclement weather on the way, Winona State will make a decision on its four-game weekend series against St. Cloud on Friday afternoon. Stay tuned to WinonaStateWarriors.com for the latest schedule updates.
