St. Cloud, Minn. - The Winona State University baseball team rebounded from an 8-3 setback in their opening game at St. Cloud State to earn a 5-1 win and salvage a split on the road.
A long rain delay proved to be beneficial to the Warriors, as they regrouped in strong fashion to win the nightcap after the loss in the opener.
Game One
Winona State ran into another taste of quality NSIC pitching in game one, as SCSU's Jack Habeck dealt a strong five innings of work and raised his season mark to 4-0, at the expense of the Warriors.
Habeck held WSU to just two hits, a
Sam Kohnle single in the first inning and a
Carter Brinkman single in the fifth, as the Warriors stranded eight runners in the game.
Bailey Banaszynski got the start for Winona State and went three and one-third innings, allowing nine hits and five runs. Banaszynski walked two and struck out a pair of Huskies before giving way to
Mitchell Mueller. Mueller was tagged for three more SCSU runs, all earned, while striking out one of the eight batters he faced.
Peter Tveite and
Jacob Huebsch combined to go the rest of the way for the Warriors, combining to hold the Huskies scoreless in their time on the hill.
Offensively, received a two-hit performance from
Carter Brinkman who was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Derek Baumgartner was 1-for-3, scoring once and driving in a run with his team-leading third triple of the year as well.
Austin Savary had the fourth hit of the game for WSU, a double in the top of the sixth inning. All three WSU runs came in the top of the sixth.
As a team, Winona State was outhit by the Huskies, 14-5; the Warriors had two errors in the contest, SCSU had three.
Game Two
The Warriors rebounded in the nightcap, receiving strong pitching performances from
Cameron Kramer and
Nicolas Herold on the way to a 5-1 win over the Huskies.
Kramer started on the mound and went five full innings, surrendering just four hits and held SCSU scoreless. The sophomore from Anoka, Minn. struck out three without giving up a walk, earning his second win of the season.
A three-run fourth inning for Winona State saw SCSU starter Luke Tupy give way to teammate Tommy Thompson. WSU took advantage of a
Derek Martin walk and
Sam Kohnle hit-by-pitch to spark a rally, and a
Tanner Williams single loaded the Warrior bases. A pair of passed balls and
Carter Brinkman sacrifice fly scored three for the Warriors.
WSU added two more runs, one each in the eighth and ninth innings, as
Tanner Williams took advantage of a
Derek Baumgartner sacrifice fly in the eighth and Joe Irkhe scored on
Sam Kohnle double in the final frame. SCSU's Mack Larson went the final three frames for the Huskies and conceded two runs to Winona State in his time on the mound.
Herold earned the save for Winona State, striking out three, walking two and giving the only Huskie run. A key double-play by the Warriors in ninth killed a potential rally for SCSU; Herold struck out the final batter he faced to seal the deal on the victory for WSU.
Winona State had eight hits in game two, doubling up SCSU's four, and the Warriors did not commit an error in the contest.
With the split, Winona State moves to 10-10 on the year, 7-8 in NSIC play. Head coach
Kyle Poock and his team will travel to Marshall, Minn. this weekend to take on Southwest Minnesota State in three games across Saturday and Sunday, April 10-11.
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.
