ROCHESTER, Minn. – Nine months ago, Winona State University captured the 2018 NSIC softball tournament title on a walk-off grand slam. Just three short games removed from that feat, Jen Giesey's slam on Tuesday evening sent the Warriors home with a sweep of Grand View University to open the 2019 campaign.
No. 15 Winona State opens the season at 2-0 after sweeping the NAIA's No. 21-ranked team in Grand View University (0-2) at the RCTC Dome.
Giesey drove in six runs in the twinbill Tuesday – with the four biggest coming on one swing of the bat to end the day with a 6-2 triumph for Winona State. Also picking up right where she left off last year was the 2018 NSIC Pitcher of the Year, Jordyn Kleman, who struck out 11 Vikings in a complete game effort while coasting to a 6-1 win in Game 1.
Kleman recorded two of her strikeout victims in the bottom of the first frame and sat back while the Warrior offense tallied six runs in the bottom of the inning.
Sophomore Riley Stout broke the scoring seal with a two-run triple to spark the first inning rally. After an infield single by Alison Nowak, Giesey followed with a two-run double to make it a 4-0 ballgame. Rina Niehoff added a sac fly later in the frame and freshman Kayla Kerkman chipped in a two-out RBI-single before the inning came to an end.
Over the next two innings, Kleman was on cruise control, sitting down six consecutive batters while mixing in four punchouts. Grand View tallied its lone run off the junior right-handed in the top of the fourth frame.
After the Warriors were blanked on the scoreboard for the final five innings of Game 1, the drought continued into the fourth inning of the finale.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, the WSU offense once again showed signs of life. Ann Smolenski singled with one out and Jaida Reynen followed with a solid at-bat to draw a walk. Two batters later, Kleman drew a pinch-hit walk to load the bases with two out for Katie Kolb. The junior lefty showed her veteran presence with a clutch two-run single to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead.
The Vikings quickly answered with the tying run in the top of the fifth. Alyssa Van Valey (1-0) was charged with the run, but it would be her only blemish on an outstanding relief performance. The junior allowed just wo hits over 3.2 IP and struck out three batters to earn the win as Giesey's seventh inning heroics sent Winona State home victorious.
Kolb, the catalyst and leadoff hitter for WSU, was on base five times in the doubleheader as she went 3-for-6 with two walks, a pair of doubles, two RBI and two runs scored.
The Warriors return to action this weekend with five games scheduled at the Lewis Dome Invitational in Rosemont, Illinois. Included in that stretch is a Top-25 matchup with No. Grand Valley State University on Friday, February 22 at 3 p.m.
