ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Winona State University faced two win-or-go-home ballgames on Friday afternoon at the 2019 NSIC Baseball Tournament and responded with a pair of victories while eliminating Wayne State and (RV) Minnesota State Mankato from the conference tourney field.
The Warriors opened the day with a decisive 10-2 triumph over the Wayne State Wildcats and led wire-to-wire over the regionally-ranked Minnesota State Mavericks in the nightcap, 4-1.
Winona State shook off a 4-1 loss to regular season champion and No. 16-ranked Augustana University on Thursday while continuing to show they can play with any team in the league.
Chad Herbst, Derek Martin and Andrew Pliner each drove in a pair of runs in the Warriors' rout of Wayne State as the Warriors pummeled the Wildcats with 11 hits in the win. Every WSU starter reached base at least once, and subsequently either drove in a run or scored one.
On the mound, Dillon Whittaker (6-3) held Wayne State to just two runs on six hits over 6.0 IP while striking out six batters. The sophomore has been lights out for the Warriors over his past three starts, posting a 3-0 record while allowing three runs over 20.0 IP with 16 punchouts.
Nicholas Herold picked up his first of two saves on the day against Wayne State with three innings of work and three strikeouts while allowing just one hit.
Herold tossed a perfect ninth inning in the finale against the No. 3-ranked team in the Central Region as Winona State returned to the diamond to knock off Mankato on Friday night.
Freshman Kyle Gendron (3-5) earned the win on the mound, allowing just one run on seven hits over 6.0 IP with five strikeouts. Senior Parker Holmstrom bridged the gap from the rookie starter to Herold with two innings of scoreless relief.
Offensively, Austin Savary broke the scoring seal against Mankato in the second elimination game with a sac fly to score Herbst in the top of the second inning. Williams added to his RBI total on the day with a run-scoring single in the third frame for a 2-0 WSU lead.
The Mavericks scored their lone run of the contest in the bottom of the sixth before being shutout by Holmstrom and Herold in the remaining innings.
Martin and Sam Kohnle added some insurance runs in the top of the ninth frame for good measure in the 4-1 triumph. Martin continues to lead the Warriors with 33 RBI on the year while Kohnle extended his streak of reaching base safely to a season-high 12 consecutive games.
Winona State (26-22) will have to continue its uphill battle in the tournament against Minot State (34-17) on Saturday at 12 p.m. The winner will advance to play one more game on Saturday afternoon with an additional win leading to the championship game on Sunday.
