O'Fallon, ILL – After nearly a year without a game, the Winona State baseball team showed no signs of rust in their season opener, taking down the Bearcats of McKendree by a score of 5-1.
Junior
Kyle Gendron (1-0) started off his junior campaign with a very solid performance. The Silver Lake, Wis. native struck out seven while allowing just five hits in the contest.
After going down 1-0 on an unearned run in the bottom of the second, the Warriors offense got going with two runs in the top of the third.
Nathan Loomis scored on an RBI single from
Derek Martin to even score at 1-1. On the very next at bat senior
Sam Kohnle single to left field to bring
Zac Stange home and give the Warriors a 2-1 advantage.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Winona State took advantage of a few free passes in the fifth. After a Stange walk, Martin was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Kohnle took full advantage of the situation by hitting a single to center, scoring Stange. The very next at bat saw
Tanner Williams hit an RBI double into right field, scoring Martin.
In the bottom of the sixth inning McKendree managed to get runners on second and third but Gendron, not phased, managed to get out the jam by forcing a pop-out to the second baseman and striking out what was potentially the tying run to close out the inning.
In the eighth inning Winona State added an insurance run to their lead on a sac fly by Loomis that scored
Nick Herbst.
Senior
Nicolas Herold pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close the game out for the Warriors.
Stange and Kohnle led the way with two hits apiece, while Kohnle's two RBI's were tops for the Warriors.
The Warriors and Bearcats will conclude their season opening two-game series with a single nine-inning game tomorrow. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.
Media Contact: Pete Watkins, Director of Athletic Communications | Ph: 507.457.5577 | Email: pwatkins@winona.edu
