RIVER FALLS, Wis. - Playing in the First National Bank Ballpark in River Falls, Wis., the Winona State University baseball team earned a split against St. Cloud State University on Thursday, marking the first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) contests for the Warriors in the 2022 campaign. 

The Warriors won the opener against the Huskies, battling back from a 1-0 deficit to win 7-2, but fell in the nightcap, 3-1, victim of a stellar SCSU pitching effort. 

Game One: 

In game one, Kyle Gendron got the start and earned his first win of the year with a solid four innings of work and strong run support, particularly from his batterymate, Derek Baumgartner. 

Gendron conceded a first inning solo home run to St. Cloud State's Tate Wallat but then proceeded to effectively silence the Husky bats during the rest of his stay on the mound. The senior from Silver Lake, Wis. scattered five hits over four frames, with only Wallat's homer going for extra bases. In contrast, Warrior catcher Derek Baumgartner knocked a three-run home run in the third inning, scoring Nick Herbst and Mason Trocke, who had reached after being hit back a pitch and drawing a walk off Husky starter Tommy Thompson. 

In his next at bat, Baumgarter singled in Joshua Hawksford in fourth to stretch the Warrior lead to 5-2, and with middle reliever Caleb Strack now on the hill for WSU, Winona State began to pull away from SCSU.   The Warriors added two more runs in the fifth inning, with Hawksford scoring Cooper Kapanke, followed by a Kyle Yu single to center field which played Hawksford. 

Zach Watzka came on for the final frame and struck out two of the three batters he faced to seal the win for Winona State.  Overall in the game, Baumgartner led the way with four RBI, while Kapanke, Hawksford and Yu drove in one run each. 

Game Two: 

Game two saw Winona State take on the SCSU ace, Ryan Duffy, a graduate transfer from the University of Minnesota, who brought his 'A' game to River Falls. 

Duffy struck out 13 Warriors en route to a complete game three-hit victory. His counterpart, Bailey Banaszynski went four innings, conceding four runs and striking out nine St. Cloud State hitters. Banaszynski worked his way out of a jam in the first inning, striking out the side with the bases loaded. A solo homer for the Huskies in the second by Tyler Schiller was the only score for either team in the first two frames and SCSU doubled their lead to 2-0 in the third when the Huskies took advantage of two singles, sandwiched around a stolen base, to score their second run.  SCSU added their third and final run on a bases loaded walk in the fourth. 

For the most part, Duffy had the Warriors' number, retiring the side in order in seven of the nine innings of the game. WSU avoided the shutout when Derek Baumgartner drove home Kyle Yu, who doubled to lead off the sixth inning. However, Duffy shut the door the rest of the way, holding Winona State scoreless. 

Overall on the mound, Bailey Banasznski took the loss, going four innings, while Peter Tveite tossed two frames and Justin Firpo threw the final three innings. Tveite allowed one hit while striking out two and Firpo struck out three Huskies, scattering five his. The top of the Warrior order provided the only offense on the day, with Yu, Herbst and Baumgartner collecting one hit apiece. 

Next up for Winona State (3-10, 1-1 NSIC) is Minot State University, scheduled to play the Warriors in a doubleheader at Loughrey Field on Saturday, March 26 beginning at 1:30pm and on Sunday, March 27 with a nine-inning game set for noon.