WINONA, Minn. – The victories continue to pile up for No. 7 Winona State University, however head coach Greg Jones and the collective Warrior softball team understand they haven't won anything quite yet. A sweep of UMary on Friday at Maynard R. Johnson Field ensured Winona State at least a share of the conference championship, but the Warriors want to finish the job with an outright title and a perfect NSIC record.
Winona State (43-5, 28-0 NSIC) extended its winning streak to 28 straight and will look to complete its historic regular season on Sunday by becoming the first 30-0 team in conference history.
There have been 10 undefeated teams in NSIC history dating back to 1984, the last coming in 2006, but none have accomplished the feat with better than a 14-0 record. With just one more win, WSU would set a new record for most NSIC wins in a season, and claim the outright championship, but 30-0 has a much nicer ring to it.
On Friday, the Warriors dispatched of the UMary Marauders in game one, 5-2, before completing the sweep behind Liz Pautz's shutout in a 9-0 (5 inning) triumph.
Pautz (16-2) was nearly unhittable in the Friday finale, striking out 12 Marauders over 5.0 IP. The sophomore right-hander had just one hard hit ball against her all afternoon, which may have been aiding in falling for the lone hit by the sun, but Pautz settled for a one-hit gem. Against all odds, her ERA continues to shrink and currently stands at 0.77 which ranks second among all Division II pitchers.
Offensively, Lani Van Zyl had herself a day. The senior shortstop combined to go 4-for-4 with two homers, three walks, four RBI and five runs scored. Van Zyl homered in each ballgame and finds herself back atop the NSIC batting average leaderboard (.476).
The heart of the WSU lineup remained a thorn in the side of opposition pitching as Van Zyl, Alison Nowak and Alexis Kelsey combined for 11 of the Warriors' 13 RBI in the twinbill. Kelsey opened the scoring in the second frame of game one with a bomb over the center field fence.
Ann Smolenski's two-run double in the fourth inning of game two accounted for the final tallies in the run-rule victory.
In the opener, Jordyn Kleman (23-1) allowed two runs (one earned) on eight hits while striking out seven batters. The junior notched her 55th complete game which are the eighth-most in program history.
With graduation looming, there's plenty of pomp and circumstance expected in Sunday's doubleheader finale in Winona. On top of what hopes to be a championship celebration, the Warriors will honor their two seniors, Katie Schlegel and Van Zyl, between games as well as welcome back members of their 2009 World Series team. First pitch between Winona State and Minot State is set for 12 p.m.
