WINONA, Minn. – At first glance, Tuesday afternoon's outcome at Maynard R. Johnson Field might appear as just another dominant sweep by Winona State University. In reality, the results were anything but ordinary, as the No. 17-ranked Warriors took two games from Concordia, St. Paul under picture-perfect spring conditions near Lake Winona to extend their winning streak to 20 in a row.
The winning streak matches a program record that was set by the 2014 squad.
Carly Kordich delivered a walk-off single with two outs in game one against CSP for a 1-0 Warrior win and Rylee Stout's fourth-inning grand slam in game two sparked a 10-run outburst in an 11-3 come-from-behind triumph. Runs did not come easily, despite the final outcomes, as the Warriors led for only four innings total in the twinbill, but led when it mattered most.
Winona State improves to 35-5 (20-0 NSIC) after playing, and prevailing, in six games over the last three days. The Warriors had less than a 24-hour turnaround from their extended weekend road trip upon returning to Winona on Monday night before taking the field on Tuesday against CSP.
After scoring 34 combined runs in four games over the last two days, the Warriors showed some fatigue against the Golden Bears and entered the seventh inning of the opening ballgame on their home turf in a scoreless stalemate with only one hit.
Ann Smolenski changed that in a hurry with a leadoff single to center field on the first pitch she saw in the bottom of the seventh. Ahead of her heroics in the finale, Stout put down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Smolenski into scoring position with one out. With the two outs, and the weight of the WSU faithful in attendance on the shoulders of the 5-foot-tall Kordich, the sophomore flipped a single to the opposite field to chase home the game-winning run.
In the circle, Jordyn Kleman (18-1) three-hit the Golden Bears for her sixth shutout of the year. She retired the first 12 batters she faced before finally surrendering a bloop single in the top of the fifth frame. The junior, who was named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week prior to the start of the game, struck out nine batters in yet another complete game effort. Kleman added yet another milestone to her already illustrious resume in the win – becoming just the third pitcher in program history with at least 500 strikeouts (503).
In game two, the Warriors trailed the Golden Bears heading to the bottom of the fourth inning, 3-1. CSP tagged Liz Pautz for only five hits over the first four innings, but turned those into three runs (two earned) as the sophomore found herself in an unfamiliar position before the offense came to her aid in a hurry.
Lani Van Zyl and Alison Nowak each drew seven-pitch walks to open the bottom of the fourth before Alexis Kelsey was hit by a pitch to load the bases. An infield single by Smolenski kept the line moving and cut the WSU deficit to 3-2 as Stout stepped to the dish. The sophomore, who blasted 12 homers last year and was stuck on just one long ball this season, turn the game around in the blink of an eye with a grand slam to left field.
Stout, whose first career home run as a freshman was a grand slam, is batting .433 (13-for-30) with six extra-base hits over her last 10 games.
Following the blast, the Warriors quickly loaded the bases once again with one out on singles by Jen Giesey and Kayla Kerkman along with a walk by Kordich. Van Zyl, Kelsey, Smolenski and Giesey would each proceed to drive in at least one run later in the inning as the WSU lead abruptly swelled to 11-3 with 10 Warrior runs as 16 batters stepped to the plate in the frame.
With victory suddenly just three outs away in the top of the fifth, Pautz (13-2) retired the final three Golden Bear batters she faced to complete the sweep.
The Warriors will get some much-needed rest over the next couple days before resuming their six-game homestand this weekend. Winona State hosts Minnesota Duluth on Friday and St. Cloud State on Saturday in doubleheaders with the conference postseason tournament less than two weeks away.
