WINONA, Minn. -
Liz Pautz pitched just the third-ever perfect game in Winona State softball history on Saturday and then returned to the circle in game two to lead a come-from-behind victory in an impressive sweep of the University of Sioux Falls.
In a home-opener NSIC doubleheader for the Warriors, Pautz was perfect in the 8-0 game one win and provided the chance for
Marissa Mullen to make some Warrior history of her own in game two, as WSU completed a late-inning rally with walk off 8-6 win in the nightcap.
Game One
Pautz retired 12 of the 15 Cougar batters she faced on strikeouts in the opener, showing command and control that left Sioux Falls without an answer at the plate. Pautz struck out the USF side in the fourth and fifth frames, and notched two strikeouts in each of the other three innings.
Only three USF hitters put the ball in play, as Kylan Straight grounded out to third base in the first, while a Kait VanDerZwaag pop-up behind second base and a fly ball by Kennedy Thomas to right field represented the only threats to the perfect game.
For Winona State,
Sam Keller was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while
Rylee Stout,
Libby Neveau, Carly Engelhart and
Kayla Kerkman all collected two hits apiece. As a team, WSU needed just four innings to score eight runs, dealing Hanna Cress, the Sioux Falls starter, her sixth loss of the year.
Prior to Pautz's milestone, only Courtney Strang (April 28, 2010) and
Jordyn Kleman (April 28, 2018) had served up perfection from the pitching circle in Warrior history. WSU has now had 30 no-hitters as a program, with the first occurring on March 23, 1994 and the most recent being a 8-0, five-inning win by Kleman over Bemidji State last year. For Pautz, she now has ten complete game efforts in 2021 and has struck out 161 batters on the season.
Game Two
Winona State saw game two unfold differently than the opener against the Cougars, with USF getting on the scoreboard in the second inning to break a 0-0 tie. Winona State responded in the third inning when
Cammi Riemer hit a solo home run to tie the game and then WSU took the lead in the fourth inning, this time on a
Marissa Mullen homer.
However, the fifth inning saw the Cougars score five runs, roughing up Warrior starter
Abbie Hlas. In that stretch, USF took advantage of two home runs of their own, by Kait VanDerZwaag and Reese Holzhueter, to retake the lead over Winona State.
Abby Smith took over for Hlas to get the final out of the inning, but Sioux Falls had staked their team to a 6-2 lead at that point.
As she did in the fourth inning,
Marissa Mullen launched another softball over the center field fence, starting a two-out rally that ignited the Warriors. After a
Carly Engelhardt double,
Teaghen Amwoza homered, plating a pair of RBI. After Bri Luciano singled to reach base, USF replaced starting pitcher VanDerZwagg with Kennedy Thomas.
With Winona State now down just 6-5,
Liz Pautz returned to the circle in relief of Smith and struck out the first batter she faced in the top of the seventh. After a walk and an error on the Warrior infield, USF had two base runners in position to extend their narrow one-run lead. However, Pautz guided the Cougar's Thomas into a groundout and then secured the final out of the inning on a Emma Barta fly ball to left field.
Heading into their final at bats, the Warriors'
Sam Keller drew a walk to start the inning and promptly advanced on a
Abbie Hlas single. With two aboard,
Libby Neveau advanced the pair of Warriors into scoring position with a ground ball to the right side of the infield. However, base placement did not matter when
Marissa Mullen stepped into the box with one down, as she blasted her third home run of the game, scoring three runs for a final 8-6 walk off victory.
With the relief effort, Pautz collected her second win of the day and 11th of the season.
Abbie Hlas went four and 2/3's innings for WSU, conceding six runs on six hits. Hlas notched five strikeouts while
Abby Smith collected two K's and allowed one hit.
With the sweep, Winona State moves to 16-8 overall, 2-0 in NSIC play. The Warriors return to action on Sunday, April 3 when they host Southwest Minnesota State University. The Mustangs and Warriors will start their doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Maynard Johnson Field in Winona, Minn.
