CLERMONT, Fla. – Jordyn Kleman and Liz Pautz combined for 24 strikeouts Wednesday afternoon as No. 25 Winona State University posted two more wins at The Spring Games Tournament to extend its winning streak to 10 in a row.
Kleman struck out a season-high 14 batters in a 5-3 victory over Dominican College and Pautz fanned 10 in a relief effort as the Warriors came from behind to defeat Purdue University Northwest, 6-3.
Lani Van Zyl extended her hitting streak to nine consecutive games with a 4-for-7 effort over the doubleheader sweep. The senior drove in a pair of runs and scored three times while raising her batting average to .487 on the day.
Alexis Kelsey drove in the first two runs against Dominican to begin the matinee for her sixth RBI in the last two ballgames. Rylee Stout added an RBI-single in the bottom of the first inning against Dominican to stake Kleman and WSU to a 3-0 lead.
In her fourth complete effort in five starts, Kleman allowed three runs on four hits over 7.0 IP. The junior right-hander limited Dominican to just three hits over the first five innings before the Chargers tagged her with a three-run homer. Kleman responded to the dinger by retiring five straight batters to end the game, including four consecutive strikeouts.
Katie Kolb's RBI-double in the fourth inning stood as the game-winner as the leadoff hitter reached base three more times in the tilt while her season OBP climbed to .509.
Van Zyl and Alison Nowak produced RBI-doubles in the finale against Purdue Northwest in the first and third inning, respectively, for an early 2-0 Warrior lead. The PNW Pride answered with three unearned runs in the bottom of the third frame to take the lead.
Pautz entered the circle in the bottom of the fourth for her first inning of work and promptly struck out the side to set the tone for the remainder of the affair. The sophomore struck out 10 of the 15 batters she faced to notch her third win of the season.
Alyssa Van Valey started the game and earned a no decision for WSU. The junior has quietly become one of the Warriors' most reliable pitchers on the young season as she allowed just three baserunners over 3.0 IP and owns a 2.49 ERA.
With the Pride leading 3-2 after four innings, Van Zyl knotted the score in the top of the fifth with an RBI-single and the Warriors took the lead later in the frame on an unearned run. Ann Smolenski drove in the final two runs of the tilt, one in each of the last two innings, including a home run in the sixth.
Winona State (12-2) concludes its 10-game stint in Florida with a twinbill on Thursday against Slippery Rock University and the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
