SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Winona State University traveled to face No. 22 Augustana University on Friday afternoon in what was set to be the first tilt of a three-game series. The teams decided to add one additional game, leading to a doubleheader in which the Vikings swept the Warriors under the lights of Karras Park.
The defending national champions had to come from behind to defeat Winona State in game one, 4-2, before leading wire-to-wire in the nightcap for a 10-5 victory.
In the seven inning opener, Winona State managed just two hits off Augustana's Max Steffens, who ranks second in the NSIC in ERA, but tagged the right-handed junior for a pair of runs in the second frame.
Steffens struck out Sam Kohnle to open the inning, but the veteran Warrior reached first on a wild pitch. Chad Herbst followed with a single to send Kohnle to third base with no outs. WSU cracked the scoring seal on an RBI-groundout by Austin Savary and Andrew Pliner followed with a sac fly to give WSU a 2-0 lead.
The Vikings responded in the third inning with all four of their runs on four hits against Dillon Whittaker (3-3). In total, the sophomore hurler scattered just five hits in the ballgame but was saddled with the tough-luck loss.
Steffens sat down 15 straight Warrior batters from the second through seven innings before Tanner Williams accounted for the other WSU hit in the top of the seventh frame.
Winona State out-hit Augustana in the finale, 10-8, but were unable to dig out of a seven-run hole on the scoreboard that the Vikings built after five innings.
Eight of the nine Warrior starters reached base safely at least once in game two with Herbst and Pliner each tallied a pair of hits.
Trailing 7-0 heading to the seventh inning, the Winona State bats came to life for all five runs on six hits. Williams got the Warriors on the board with an RBI-single after base hits from Derek Baumgartner and Nathan Loomis preceded a Zac Stange walk. Kohnle was next with a two-run double to make it a 7-3 game. Herbst and Pliner kept the line moving with RBI-singles of their own as the Viking lead shrunk to 7-5. The Warriors loaded the bases once again and put the tying run in scoring position before Augustana was finally able to end the frame that saw the Warriors send 11 batters to the plate.
After the Vikings tacked on three insurance runs in the eighth, Winona State made some noise once again in its final at-bats with back-to-back singles by Pliner and Savary before the rally was snuffed out with a game-ending double play.
Winona State (16-17, 9-12 NSIC) falls below the .500 mark for the first time this season following the sweep while Augustana improves to 28-11 (21-4 NSIC).
The Warriors will look to shake off their current three-game skid with two more games at Augie on Saturday. The second game will be a non-conference affair.
