Winona, Minn. - The Winona State University baseball team swept the University of Minnesota Duluth in a key three-game series this weekend, as the Warriors found victory in trio of NSIC contests held in the friendly confines of Loughrey Field.
Two one-run nail-biters sandwiched a double-digit blowout victory for Winona State, as they won 6-5 (7-innings), 12-1 (7-innings) and 5-4 (12-innings), providing fans, families, and followers some bonus baseball in game three.
Game One
In a game that started on Saturday afternoon and ended Sunday, Winona State beat the Bulldogs 6-5 in seven innings.
UMD and WSU played five innings on Saturday before rain halted play with the Warriors leading 5-3. When the infield tarp came out for the second time on the day, the two teams retired for the evening.
Kyle Gendron started the contest for the Warriors and pitched all five innings on Saturday. The junior from Silver Lake, Wisc. was strong on the hill for head coach
Kyle Poock, scattering four hits and striking out seven. Gendron faced 23 Bulldog batters and eclipsed the century mark in pitches at 102 for the game.
When the two teams resumed on Sunday, WSU's
Mitchell Mueller was on the mound. The freshman from Brookfield, Wisc. struck out six, while facing nine Bulldog batters. Mueller was credited with the save; Gendron earned the win.
The Warriors found themselves battling back after the first inning, down 1-0. However, WSU took advantage of two singles, a passed ball and a pair of walks to take a 4-3 after two innings and did not relinquish the lead after that. The Bulldogs made it interesting in the top of the 7th, scoring twice to close the game to 6-5 and loaded the bases. At that point, Mueller matched the moment, striking out UMD's Tyler Peterson to end the game.
Offensively for WSU in game one,
Carter Brinkman was 2-for-3 and scored a run;
Sam Kohnle had two RBI's while
Derek Martin cracked a double for the Warriors. As the designated hitter,
Austin Savary was 1-for-2 and scored two times.
Game Two
Moving from the DH spot in game one to the mound in game two,
Austin Savary threw a complete-game outing, leading Winona State to a comfortable 12-1 victory.
The senior from Dubuque, Iowa made it look easy at times, striking out nine Bulldogs, while only walking three. Savary faced 31 batters and was tagged for the only Bulldog run in the game, scored when Tim Pokornowski walked with the bases loaded, scoring Anders Brown in the fourth. Savary worked his way out of that particular jam and buckled down the rest of the contest while enjoying strong run support from his teammates.
After scoring one run in the first, it was a seven-run third inning that opened up the game for Winona State. They added a three-spot in the fifth and an insurance run in the sixth to cruise to victory behind Savary's successful start.
Leading the Warrior offense in game two was
Derek Baumgartner, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs, including a home run.
Zac Stange also hit a homer, added a double and contributed three RBIs while batting in the leadoff spot.
Sam Kohnle drew two walks, and
Nathan Loomis was 2-for-4 with three Warrior runs batted in on two hits.
The 12-1 win was the largest margin of victory for WSU so far this year, besting the 10-0 whitewash of Bemidji State earlier this week.
Game Three
With two wins in hand for the Warriors, the third and final contest against the Bulldogs afforded Winona State the rare opportunity to win three games in the same day. Winona State needed extra time to complete the task, but beat the Bulldogs 5-4 in 12 innings.
The first five innings of the WSU - UMD game three was a classic pitchers dual, with the Warriors'
Dillon Whittaker and Bulldogs' Russ Tanner each tossing several stanzas of quality work. Tanner conceded just two hits and one run, while walking five Warriors; Whittaker went seven innings and had an eye-popping 12 strikeouts, nearly half of the 28 UMD batters he faced.
Whittaker left after seven innings with a 4-1 lead but the Bulldogs battled back to tie the game with three in the top of the eighth. At that point, the Warriors'
Nicolas Herold yielded to
Justin Firpo for the final four innings, and the junior from Burnsville, Minn. shut out UMD over the rest of the game. Firpo faced 13 batters, struck out six and only walked one.
Firpo's UMD counterpart, Liam Blaschko, was almost equally as adept, putting in a four and one-third innings of solid relief work for the Bulldogs. It took Winona State three extra innings to find the winning run, but when Nate Loomis lined a shot to center field with teammate
Nick Herbst at third, Winona State claimed their third, and final, win of the day on the sacrifice fly.
In game three, Winona State was led by
Sam Kohnle at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a double and a team-high three walks. Kohnle made the Bulldogs pay for the free passes, scoring twice.
Tanner Williams was 2-for-6 with a double, while
Jake Brill was 3-for-3. In addition to his game winning sacrifice fly, Nate Loomis was 2-for-4 and drew a walk.
With the 3-0 series performance, Winona State raised their record to 8-5 overall and 5-3 in NSIC play. Minnesota - Duluth fell to 3-8 overall, 1-7 in NSIC action.
After the rare three Warriors wins in a day, Winona State will have a quick turnaround when they host the University of Mary on Tuesday. The NSIC double header will mark the fourth home series in a row for WSU, where the Warriors are riding a five-game win streak.
First pitch for the Winona State - U-Mary matchup is set for 1:30pm Tuesday at Loughrey Field.
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.
