WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State University baseball team put a bow on its 2019 home slate with a pivotal sweep over Concordia-St. Paul. Aaron Mutter and Dillon Whittaker each turned in complete game gems for the Warriors in 4-0 and 9-1 triumphs.
Winona State (23-19, 15-14 NSIC) has won four straight, and seven of its last eight entering the final weekend of the regular season. Wednesday's sweep at Loughrey Field also moved the Warriors into the seven spot in the conference standings with three games left to play. The top eight teams qualify for the postseason tournament.
Mutter (5-2) two-hit the Golden Bears in the opening game for his first shutout of the season. Following his complete game effort with nine strikeouts last time out at Upper Iowa, the junior right-hander matched his career high with 10 punchouts over 7.0 IP.
In the finale, Whittaker (5-3) stepped up to the challenge of matching his veteran mound mate by scattering three hits over 9.0 IP. The sophomore hurler allowed just one unearned run while striking out six batters over his first career nine-inning outing.
After three scoreless innings by both sides in game one, the Warriors broke through against one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the NSIC. Derek Martin singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth and moved into scoring position on a one-out single by Sam Kohnle. Chad Herbst followed with an RBI-single up the middle to break the scoring seal while extending his hitting streak to a team-high 12 games. Andrew Pliner added a run-scoring single of his own before the inning came to an end and Muter returned to the hill with a 2-0 advantage.
With the lead in his back pocket, Mutter retired the side in order over the next two frames and sat down nine of the final 10 batters he faced. Mutter put an exclamation point on his win by striking out the final there CSP batters.
In the nightcap, Winona State got the offense started much earlier with a run in the second inning which quickly swelled to a 7-0 Warrior lead after four frames. Freshman catcher Derek Baumgartner jumpstarted his 2-for-4 tilt with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the second to get the bats going in a 12-hit effort for the home team.
Winona State has posted double digits in the hit column five times over the past 10 ballgames.
Austin Savary's second RBI of the twinbill capped a two-run third inning before WSU sent all nine batters to the plate in the fourth and scratched the plate for four more runs.
Baumgartner tripled to open the fourth frame, and, after a walk by Nathan Loomis, Zac Stange made it a 4-0 affair. Herbst chased the Golden Bears' starting pitcher with a two-run single and Pliner made it a 7-0 game with an infield single against the new CSP hurler.
Pliner went 4-for-6 with four RBI and Herbst 4-for-8 with three RBI combined in the doubleheader.
Loomis capped his 3-for-4 game in the finale with an RBI-double in the seventh ahead of Tanner Williams' run-scoring at-bat. Loomis also notched his team-leading 10th stolen base.
On the mound, Whittaker's lone blemish came after a Warrior error in the sixth inning. Although the runner came around to score an unearned run, Whittaker retired the next nine batters he faced heading to the final frame before grinding out his complete game victory in the ninth.
Winona State wraps up the regular season with a good test ahead of next week's NSIC Tournament with a three-game set at (RV) Minnesota State Mankato. The doubleheader begins on Friday at 1:30 p.m. with the finale set for Saturday at 12 p.m.
