ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Winona State University softball team started the 2022 campaign both on a positive note and indoors, taking on NAIA foe Grand View University in a double header at the RCTC Dome on Tuesday, Feb. 15.
Winona State earned a victory in a pitcher's dual in game one over the Vikings, with
Liz Pautz going the distance in a 2-1 Warrior win. In the nightcap, WSU built up a comfortable lead and then weathered a late GVU rally to hold on for the sweep, 8-4.
In game one, Winona State scored in the bottom of the first inning but was held scoreless for the next three frames. In the fifth inning, Winona State matched a Viking run in the top of the stanza with one of their own in the bottom of the frame to claim a 2-1 lead after five. While the Warrior bats stayed quiet against GVU starter Courtney Kopischke the rest of the way, Pautz was equal to the task, closing the door on the Vikings to earn the season-opening triumph fpr her team.
Pautz, a senior from Pulaski, Wis., struck out 13 Grand View batters, walked only one and gave up just three hits in the game. She conceded one earned run while facing 26 batters over seven innings of work. The win was Pautz's 36th of her career and 33rd complete game for Winona State.
At the plate, Marrisa Mullen was 2-for-3 with an RBI while
Abbie Hlas,
Rylee Stout and
Ann Smolenski each had one hit apiece.
Kayla Kerkman was 2-for-3 in the game for the Warriors. Overall, WSU scored two runs on seven hits while committing one error in game one. GVU scored one run on three hits and also committed one miscue.
In game two, Winona State carried an eight run lead over four innings before Grand View got on the board in the top of the fifth, spoiling the potential shutout for starting pitcher,
Abbie Hlas. Prior to the fifth,
Libby Neveau and
Rylee Stout picked up where they left off in 2021 in the power department, with Neveau hitting a bases-clearing home run and Stout a triple in the early part of the contest. Stout was 2-for-4 in the game and was joined by Warrior teammates
Marissa Mullen and
Kayla Kerkman who both had two hits each in the game.
As a team, WSU scored eight runs on ten hits and committed three errors. Hlas earned the win while the Warriors saw both
Emilee Erickson and
Abby Smith take the circle in the later innings. As a staff, the three Warrior pitchers conceded four runs on six hits. Grand View's Jessica Walljasper took the loss for the Vikings.
Winona State (2-0, 0-0 NSIC) will put their unbeaten start in 2022 up against Pittsburg State University and Drury University this weekend, as the Warriors travel to Kansas for a pair of double headers on the road. WSU is set for 11 am and 1pm contests on Saturday. On Sunday, Winona State will play at 10 am and noon.
