Winona, Minn. - The Winona State University softball team moved up two spots in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll, and find their team ranked #13 in the country.
Hear more from head coach
Greg Jones as he talks with HBC sports director Justin Barrientos about the Warrior season so far.
The Warriors currently boast a 13-2 overall record and will host a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) foes this weekend after opening conference play at 2-0. The Warriors swept Upper Iowa 12-1 and 13-1 earlier this week, contests in which WSU enjoyed both stellar pitching performances and a well-tuned offensive mindset, notching double-digit runs in back-to-back games for just the second time this year.
Katie Kolb has been crushing it as of late, hitting .432 in 44 at-bats and setting the Warrior table well, scoring 15 times.
Libby Neveau leads the team in hits (17), RBIs and home runs (5);
Alison Nowak is tops in doubles with six so far.
Rylee Stout is hitting .349 and has seven extra-base hits on her ledger, including two home runs. Against Upper Iowa,
Ann Smolenski had a 3-for-3 day at the plate in the opener against the Peacocks.
On Friday, April 1, head coach
Greg Jones and his team will look to continue their recent success against the University of Minnesota - Moorhead, a program in which the Warriors enjoy a 14-1 mark over the last 15 meetings. Game times are set at 1pm and 3pm.
WSU has been able to procure a shutout in six of the last seven meetings with the Dragons, but were pushed to extra innings in a 2019 matchup which they won 3-2 in eight frames.
Alison Nowak homered for the Warriors in their most recent games against MSUM, which occurred over two years ago on March 31, 2019.
So far in 2021, the Dragons are 3-13 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC after trading wins with Northern State earlier this week. In their matchup with the Wolves, the Dragons took the opener 4-0 but fell in game two, 8-5. In the opening win freshman Reece Dahl shut out NSU with a five-hit complete game performance.
After dealing with the Dragons, Winona State will turn around and face Northern State on Saturday, April 2 with another 1pm/3pm doubleheader at Alumni Field. NSU is 10-6 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC due to the aforementioned split with Minnesota State - Moorhead.
The Wolves have put up some impressive numbers in their wins so far this year, including a 15-0 whitewashing of Missouri S&T, an 11-5 defeat of Bemidji State and a sweep of the University of Mary in non-conference action in early March when they dealt the Marauders 4-2 and 6-1 losses.
NSU will face Upper Iowa on Friday in Fayette, while the Warriors welcome the Dragons in Winona.
Both Winona State softball doubleheaders will be available on the NSIC Network
at this link.
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.
