WINONA, Minn. – Following a three-hour rain delay to begin the day, Winona State University and the University of Minnesota Duluth finally took the field to settle their four-game weekend series at Loughrey Field. The Duluth Bulldogs went on to win the three-game NSIC series with the teams ultimately splitting the four-game set as WSU claimed the non-conference finale on Sunday night.
The Bulldogs outlasted a late Warrior rally in game one, 9-5, before WSU breezed to an 8-1 victory in the nightcap.
Duluth appeared to be on cruise control in the opener, leading 9-1 heading to ninth frame before the Warriors made a furious charge in their last at-bats. Winona State plated four runs in the final inning and brought the tying run to the plate before the Bulldogs finally recorded the last out of the ballgame.
Kyle Kosobucki started the ninth inning with a leadoff walk and scored on a double by Andrew Pliner. The run was the Warriors' first since the fifth frame and lit a spark for the offense. With two outs, Mitchell Seager and Derek Martin drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Tanner Williams followed with a two-run single and Sam Kohnle was next with a run-scoring single up the middle to make it a 9-5 game. After the second pitching change of the frame, with the bases loaded once again, the Bulldogs finally recorded the final out of the tilt to preserve the win.
Despite the loss, the Warrior offense carried its late-game momentum into the nightcap and peppered the Bulldogs for five runs in the top of the first inning in game two.
Winona State was aided by a pair of Bulldog errors in the first inning which ultimately yielded the biggest blow of the night – a grand slam by Derek Baumgartner. After circling the bases for his first collegiate homer, the freshman ended the night with a five RBI.
Baumgartner padded the lead to 6-0 with an RBI-single in the third frame and Seager tacked on a two-run single in the fifth to account for the final runs of the affair.
On the mound, Brett Herber (1-1) tallied his first win of the year. The senior allowed one run on just two hits over 6.0 IP while striking out a career-best seven batters. Jacob Huebsch tossed the final inning for WSU and struck out one batter.
Williams paced the Warriors offensively in the split with a 4-for-10 effort while extending his hitting streak to six straight games. The sophomore has seven RBI over his last eight games. Williams also leads WSU with 12 multi-hit games this season.
Winona State (15-12, 8-7 NSIC) will return to the diamond on Tuesday at UMary. The Warriors and Marauders two-game series has been moved up one day from Wednesday due to impending inclement weather.
