ROCHESTER, Minn. - Just two hours after having to stomach a tough 2-1 loss to St. Cloud State in the opening round of the 2021 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Softball Tournament, the Winona State Warriors flipped the script on Minot State and won in walk-off 6-5 fashion to advance to the second day of the competition.
Fittingly, one of the most veteran Warriors was the winning run, as
Alison Nowak scored the season-saving tally on a
Teaghen Amwoza single, crossing the plate in the bottom of the seventh when Amwoza delivered the clutch hit of the year so far.
A back-and-forth game saw
Rylee Stout start the WSUscoring with a three-RBI triple in the bottom of the first to answer the Beavers opening inning brace of runs, and the Warriors took a lead into the second.
Minot State climbed back on top with a pair of runs in the third inning and one in fourth, while WSU was unable to match the Beaver's run production over that same time frame. Emily Erickson came on in relief for Pautz and struck out Jamie Odlum to end the inning.
Jordyn Kleman assumed the Warrior pitching duties in the fifth inning, striking out the side. The 1-2-3 Minot State fifth seemed to be a catalyst for Winona State as they clawed back one run in the fifth when
Libby Neveau scored on a throwing error.
The sixth inning saw the same cycle, as Kleman retired the MSU side in order, including a strikeout of Isis Cabral to end the Beaver at-bat.
Perhaps a sign of things to come,
Teaghen Amwoza opened the Warrior half of the sixth with a single up the middle.
Gabby Gedville took Amwoza's place on base as pinch-runner and scored when
Katie Kolb cracked a double down the left field line, tying the game at 5-5.
Kleman struck out two of the three MSU batters she faced in the top of the seventh and saw the third thrown out by NSIC Gold Glove winner Neveau, setting the scene for a dramatic last Warrior at-bat.
Alison Nowak reached on an error to open the inning and made her way to third base on an additional throwing miscue when Neveau bunted. After MSU's Valentine retired
Sam Keller and
Rylee Stout, Amwoza delivered in heart-stopping fashion for head coach
Greg Jones, and his team.
For Minot State, Trinity Valentine went the distance, allowing seven hits and six runs, four of which were earned. The Beavers committed five errors in the game, and the Warriors capitalized on the mistakes, particularly in the seventh inning.
NSIC Elite 18 award winner
Liz Pautz took the Warrior circle for the first three innings;
Emilee Erickson threw one and one-third frames before giving way to
Jordyn Kleman who earn the win, her 21st of the season.
Kleman faced the minimum nine batters across three innings of work, striking out six. Also, in the relief appearance, Kleman became the Winona State all-time strikeout leader at 850 punchouts over her distinguished pitching career.
In ending Minot State's season and extending their own, the Warriors move to 34-11 overall, and most importantly, advanced to Friday.
Winona State is set to face Southwest Minnesota State at 10am on Field B. For the complete 2021 NSIC Softball Tournament Central homepage,
visit 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.
