WAYNE, Neb. – Aaron Mutter pitched his second consecutive complete game for the Warriors in the opener of a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon as Winona State University (10-13, 9-7 NSIC) split the twinbill with Wayne State College (10-13, 9-7 NSIC).
A late inning comeback in game one gave the Warriors a 5-4 victory, but the Wildcats flipped the script and rallied for seven runs over the final two frames of the finale for an 8-4 win in 10 innings.
Wayne State recorded five of its seven hits in the ballgame off Mutter in the third inning to take a 4-0 lead. The Wildcats plated all four runs with two outs, but Winona's sophomore right-hander stopped the bleeding by striking out the final batter of the frame and held the Wildcats in check from there.
Mutter (2-1) struck out six batters without issuing a walk in his second straight victory on the mound.
Winona State answered back in the bottom of the fourth. Chad Herbst started the rally for the Warriors with a one-out single to center field. He would eventually come around to score Winona State's first run of the game as Derek Martin reached on fielder's choice. The next batter, Nathan Loomis, reached on a Wildcat error allowing Martin to advance to third. Zac Stange capped the three-run inning with a two-run double down the left field line to cut the Warrior deficit to 4-3.
Winona completed its comeback the following inning with a two-out rally kickstarted by a Tanner Williams bunt single. Herbst reached on an error advancing Williams to second and Kipp Youngquist walked to load the bases for the Warriors. Martin followed by shooting an 0-1 pitch through the middle of the field scoring two runs and giving Winona State the lead, 5-4.
With the lead intact, Mutter shut the door on Wayne State by allowing just one hit over the final two innings of play.
In game two, the Warriors jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning to back up starter Caleb Schoenholz.
Stange kicked off the game with a double and came around to score after Sam Kohnle reached on an error.
Wayne State tied the game up in the third after a leadoff triple eventually came around to score.
The game remained tied at one through the middle innings until Winona State took the lead in the bottom of the seventh for what looked to be the final time. Herbst sent a ball over the left field fence for his second homer of the season and a 2-1 WSU lead. Taylor Field added a sac fly in the eighth to pad the Warrior lead to 3-1 heading into the ninth frame.
The Wildcats put together a two-out rally to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning off Warrior reliever Jacob Watzka who had made three straight scoreless appearances entering the day. Both Wildcat runs were unearned off Watzka.
In extras, Wayne State strung together two hits coupled with two Warrior errors and a three-run home run to compile a five-run top of the tenth inning.
Winona State got one back in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn't enough as the Warriors dropped the finale, 8-4.
Schoenholz allowed just one run on seven hits over 8.0 IP while striking out eight batters and earned a no decision in his start. Nicolas Herold (1-2) suffered the loss after relieving Watzka and allowing five runs (one earned) over two-thirds of an inning on the mound.
Herbst combined for a 3-for-6 day at the plate with three runs scored.
The Warriors four-game series scheduled to be played at Bemidji State University this weekend is yet to be determined if it will be played. Stay tuned to WinonaStateWarriors.com for details as they become available.
