AUBURNDALE, Fla. - (updated 3/10) Starting pitcher
Kyle Gendron took the mound for the first time in 2022 on Wednesday, helping to lead the Winona State University baseball team to a 3-0 shutout win over the University of Sciences, wrapping up the 2022 spring break trip for the Warriors.
Gendron, who missed most of the 2021 season due to injury and subsequent surgery, threw strong in the early innings for WSU, striking out two batters and scattering two hits.
Nicolas Herold was almost un-hittable his five innings on the mound, striking out 12 Devils en route to the victory. Dylon Whittaker came on in the ninth to close out the affair and maintain the shutout, as Winona State prepares to return home.
Winona State scored single runs in the second, fourth, and seventh inning of play, but it was all the Warrior pitching staff needed on the day.
WSU took advantage of a UScience miscue to get
Miller Wallace aboard in the bottom of the second. After a
Cooper Kapanke single,
Kyle Yu drove in Wallace with a base hit to stake the Warriors a 1-0 advantage early on.
In fourth,
Mason Trocke earned an RBI when his single scored
Joshua Hawksford, after Hawksford earned a two-out walk. WSU doubled their lead to 2-0 with the run.
In the seventh, Trocke again added to the Warrior advantage, this time with a solo home run. For Trocke, it was his first homer of the season and fourth RBI on the year.
Other than the Winona State single-run offensive outbursts, itching staff for both programs combined for a masterful game on the hill. The game was the inaugural meeting of the two teams and the Warrior shutout was the first since Winona State beat Upper Iowa 2-0 at home on Wednesday, April 28 last season.
While Gendron, Herold, and Whittaker struck out 14 while walking just two, the Devils' Chris Brown went six innings, had six strikeouts, and held WSU to two runs, one earned. John McCrane came on in relief for USciences, pitching two innings and allowing one run. For Winona State, Whittaker's one inning of relief work earned him a save and Herold the win, with Whittaker striking out one.
Nathan Platter retired a batter in the third to close out the inning early on.
Offensively, Trocke ran the show for the Warriors from the leadoff spot, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, including his home run.
Carter Brinkman was also 2-for-4, while
Nick Herbst collected a double for WSU. As a team, Winona State scored three runs on nine hits and did not commit an error. The Devils (4-11, 0-0 PSAC) were shut out on the day, had just three hits, and committed an error.
Winona State (2-9, 0-0 NSIC) returns to home soil with a break until their first scheduled NSIC series against Northern State University. The Warriors are on tap to host the Wolves in a three-game stint, beginning on Saturday, March 19. WSU and NSU will see first pitch set for 1:30 p.m. in the cozy confines of Loughrey Field in the first conference action of the year for either team.
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.
