Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Winona, Minn. – The Winona State University softball team has enjoyed an extended winning streak against the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles, having won 15 straight games dating back to April 2, 2011. The Warriors were able to continue that trend with several strong performances on Sunday, April 18 as the Warriors defeated UMC by 5-0 and 7-1 scorelines.
With the sweep on the day - and the unbeaten weekend after defeating Bemidji State twice on Saturday - Winona State moves to 23-6 overall and 12-4 in NSIC play.
Game One
The first batter for Minnesota Crookston, Dana Zarn, ended any hopes of a
Jordyn Kleman no-hitter repeat performance from Saturday with a first inning, first-pitch single, but almost everything else went the way of the Warriors in the opener.
Abbie Hlas provided an opening stanza exclamation point of her own with a solo home run in the bottom of the first, driving a Sofia Gombos' pitch over the fence in left. Hlas' shot jump-started a WSU first inning in which they plated four runs total and put UMC on their heels the rest of the way.
Four of the five Warrior runs came in the first inning; after Hlas' home run,
Sam Keller scored
Alison Nowak on a long fly ball to left.
Teaghen Amwoza drove in
Rylee Stout with a single to left to finish the four runs for WSU.
Kleman scattered four hits across seven innings, while striking out 13 UMC batters in the process. Zarn accounted for half the Golden Eagle hits with a single and double; Rachel Jones and Jordan Peterson both had singles against the senior standout. Kleman walked only one batter on the afternoon.
The Warriors padded their lead with a fifth run in the third inning as Nowak drove in
Abbie Hlas on a base hit. UM-Crookston did not see a runner advance past second in the game.
Several stellar defensive plays highlighted the all-around effort for the Warriors, including a diving grab of a foul ball by catcher
Rylee Stout that brought the fans to their feet in the fifth.
With the win, Kleman moved her all-time victory total to 88, and picked up her fourth shutout of the 2021 campaign.
Game Two
Liz Pautz threw a one-hitter in the nightcap against the Golden Eagles, dominating the UMC lineup and giving the Warrior offense time to heat up in a game that was as close as 2-1 in the later innings of the contest.
Pautz struck out 15 Golden Eagles in the complete-game effort, her second straight win and seventh victory of the season. The standout senior walked only two and conceded just one hit, a solo home run to UMC's Dana Zarn in the fourth.
Zarn's round-tripper was one of the few times the ball left the Warrior infield as Pautz earned K's on more than half of the 25 batters she faced.
Unlike game one, the Winona State offense took some time to get going in the game, as the Warriors cooled off after scoring a pair of runs in the first inning with
Rylee Stout and
Libby Neveau both picked up RBIs when they scored
Katie Kolb and
Alison Nowak, respectively.
Minnesota Crookston's Katie Humhej held WSU scoreless for three frames after the first, striking out six Warriors between the second and fourth innings and allowing just one single in during that time.
However, in the Warrior half of the fifth, an
Alison Nowak double scored
Kayla Kerkman to push the Warriors to a 3-1 advantage. With the Nowak nudge, WSU's offense found a spark.
In the sixth, WSU put the game out of reach with a four-run outburst started off by a monster home run to straight-away center field by
Libby Neveau. Her blast hit the top of the second outfield fence, marked at 275 to dead center.
Neveau's long ball led to Humhej's exit from the game for UMC, and her replacement, Kamryn Frisk, also conceded a home run when
Teaghen Amwoza cracked a two-run shot to left field. Amwoza's tally served as the last scoring of the day for either team.
To cap off an extraordinary game, Pautz took matter into her own hands in the top of the seventh, striking out all three Golden Eagles to end the contest.
For Pautz, the victory pushed her record to 7-3 overall for the season.
As a team, Winona State moved to 23-6 and moves into second place all alone at 12-4 in NSIC play. In contrast to WSU, Minnesota State – Mankato and Northern State both dropped contests over the weekend, going 3-1. The Mavericks and Wolves find themselves tied for third with Concordia-St. Paul, with each of the three programs sitting the 11-5 in the conference. Augustana, who remain No. 1 in the country and in the NSIC, are at 15-1 in league play and a own a 27-3 overall ledger.
After an extended home stand, Winona State now takes to the road for their next five NSIC doubleheaders. WSU will travel to Concordia – St. Paul on Wednesday, April 21 facing the Golden Bears in a 2pm/4pm twin bill.
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.
