WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Winona State University softball team continued their spring break trip today with two more wins in Florida. The Warriors took down the University of Southern Indiana in extra innings, 4-3, and then defeated the University of the Sciences, 8-2, in their second game of the day.
Winona State vs. Southern Indiana
The Warriors and Screaming Eagles each got off to hot starts in the first inning. Southern Indiana started the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the first, but WSU bounced back when
Rylee Stout hit a two-run homer after
Abbie Hlas reached base to put the Warriors up 2-1 after one.
Liz Pautz earned the start in the circle and settled in nicely after the home run she allowed in the first inning, allowing just one more hit through the sixth inning. The Screaming Eagles connected for another long ball, this time a two-run homer in the top of the seventh to put WSU down 2-3.
In their last chance at bat, the Warriors were able to load the bases and Hlas singled to right field to score
Brianna Luciano and tie the game to force extra innings. In the eighth, Pautz was able to strand an USI runner on third base and put WSU in the driver's seat to score the game-winning run. In the bottom of the eighth, Lucianno hit a blooper over the left side of the infield and drove in Stout on a walk-off single to give Winona State the 4-3 victory in extras.
Pautz earned the win in the circle, pitching 8.0 innings and allowed just three runs on five hits, while striking out 11 batters. Hlas was key in the batter's box for WSU, going 3-4 and recording an RBI and a run. Stout's two-run homer in the first inning helped her lead the Warriors with two RBIs. As a team, Winona State recorded 10 hits at the plate and scored four runs.
Winona State vs. University of the Sciences
The Warriors got off to a slow start in their second game of the day, but seven unanswered runs in the final three innings paved the way for a convincing 8-2 victory over the USciences Devils.
Emilee Erickson started in the circle for WSU, allowing two runs on just one hit in 1.1 innings.
Abby Smith entered the game in relief during the second inning and pitched 5.2 shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out five batters.
In a game that Winona State trailed 1-2 heading into the fifth inning, WSU was able to put a crooked number on the board and break open the game with four runs in the top of the fifth. Four straight hits from
Abbie Hlas,
Rylee Stout,
Carly Engelhardt, and
Teaghen Amwoza helped spark the inning for WSU, and a
Cammi Riemer single to the outfield brought in two more runners and put the Warriors up 5-2. An added run in the sixth and two more in the seventh, off a Riemer two-run bomb, helped Winona State secure an 8-2 victory over the Devils.
Riemer led the way at the plate for the Warriors, going 3-4 and tallying five RBIs during the game. Hlas and Stout each had multi-hit games, and Amwoza drove in a run and crossed the plate for two more runs of her own. In total, WSU scored eight runs on 14 hits and did not commit an error in the field.
Winona State will be back in action tomorrow when they play against Grand Valley State at 1:30pm EST and Southern New Hampshire at 3:45pm EST. Both contests are in Winter Haven, Fla. at the DiamondPlex Softball Complex.
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www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and
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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.
