SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Winona State University baseball team ran into a surging University of Sioux Falls Cougars squad on Saturday, dropping both ends of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) doubleheader by 6-4 scorelines in both contests.
Game One
The Cougars connected for two runs in the bottom of the first inning to get off on the front foot in a seven-inning ballgame and never trailed in the game.
A walk, a single and a stolen base sparked the USF two-run first inning, with a pair of errors adding to the Warriors woes to open the scoring. WSU starter
Cameron Kramer was able to work out of the jam in the inning with the bases full, but the fielding miscues were a sign of things to come in the game.
Winona State cut the deficit to 2-1 in the second inning when
Zac Stange drove in
Tanner Williams, getting the Warriors on the board. After USF extended their lead to 3-1 through an error in the fourth, the Warriors battled back to tie the game at 3-3 when
Austin Savary hit a home run with
Sam Kohnle aboard in the sixth inning
Unfortunately the level scoreline was short lived, as USF's Noah Buss hit a solo home run to right in the bottom of the sixth, putting Sioux Falls back on top. The Cougars went on to score two more runs on a Tyler Cate triple.
Although Winona State was able to pull one back in the sixth when
Carter Brinkman drove in
Zac Stange to make it 6-4, it was not enough to turn the tide of the contest.
In addition to Savary's home run,
Nick Herbst had a triple and
Zac Stange notched a double for head coach
Kyle Poock.
Overall, the Warriors committed five errors, while accumulating six hits against the Cougars Keenahn Coyle, who went distance for the win. Winona State's
Peter Tveite took the loss on the day.
Game Two
The nightcap saw the same scoreline, 6-4, in favor of the Cougars, as well as an onslaught of offense from both sides as the two teams combined for 23 hits in the nine inning affair.
USF looked poised to make the game a rout, with a 6-0 lead after six innings of play. A three-run home run by Tyler Cate in the third inning and RBIs in the fifth and sixth stanza's saw WSU down by a touchdown with only three at-bats remaining.
However, WSU battled back, starting with
Austin Beyer's two-run home run in the seventh, scoring
Joe Ihrke and providing a spark to the Warrior offense.
Nick Herbst later scored on a wild pitch in the seventh as well, closing the gap to 6-4 with two innings left to play.
Winona State was unable to score in the eighth, but saw
Derek Baumgartner put the ball in play in ninth and reaching on a fielder's choice, scoring
Derek Martin after a series of throwing errors by the Cougar infield. But as in game one, the late inning heroics fell short and WSU was unable to score more runs.
Austin Savary was tagged with the loss in the game; both
Jacob Huebsch and
Nathan Santos took the hill in relief efforts. Savary went five and two-thirds, giving up nine hits, six runs and struck out four.
In addition to
Austin Beyer's home run,
Derek Martin,
Tanner Williams, and
Zac Stange all had doubles in the contest.
With the two losses, Winona State falls to 20-14 overall and 17-12 in NSIC play. The Warriors will get one more shot at the Cougars tomorrow in a single nine-inning game, with first pitch scheduled for noon in Sioux Falls.
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.
