WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State University baseball team hosted No. 22 Augustana University in a doubleheader this afternoon but fell short of completing the upset, dropping both games by scores of 2-3 and 1-9.
Game One
Augustana began the opening game of the twin bill with a run in the top of the first inning off WSU's starter,
Kyle Gendron. AU added another run from a homer to right field to go up 2-0 after 1.5 innings.
Winona State answered back with a two-run bomb from
Miller Wallace in the bottom of the second to tie the game at two apiece. The lead didn't last long as the Vikings scored another run in the third inning.
Caleb Strack entered the game in relief and pitched four innings of shutout ball, allowing just two hits while striking out five batters to keep the Warriors in the game. Unfortunately, Winona State only garnered two more hits while leaving five runners on base in the final four innings and failed to bring another run across the plate.
Augustana's Seth Miller recorded the win in the 3-2 ballgame while Gendron was dealt the loss. Augustana recorded three runs on six hits, with none bigger than the go-ahead solo shot over the right field fence by Jordan Barth in the third inning.
Carter Brinkman,
Austin Beyer,
Miller Wallace, and
Joshua Hawksford each recorded hits for WSU while Wallace earned two RBIs with his homer which also brought in Beyer.
Game Two
Once again, Augustana's bats were hot right from the get-go as they opened the game with three runs on three hits in the opening half inning. A two-run homer by the Vikings put them up 5-0 after 1.5 innings before WSU was able to record a hit.
In the bottom of the second inning,
Cooper Kapanke opened the frame with a double in the right-center gap which was followed by a Hawksford single through the right side.
Ryland Wall hit a deep fly to left field that allowed Kapanke to tag up and score the Warriors lone run of the game.
Bailey Banaszynski, who started the game for Winona State, settled in after the second inning and pitched two clean innings before being relieved by
Peter Tveite. Augustana scored a run in both the fifth and sixth inning to add extra insurance and build a 7-1 lead.
Justin Firpo came on to pitch two innings, allowing just one baserunner off a walk while striking out three. Augustana was able to add two more in the ninth off
Zach Watzka to bring the game to 9-1, which was the final score.
Eight different Vikings were featured on the mound, with Jed Schmidt earning the win after 2.0 innings pitched. The Augie staff held WSU to just three hits and one run, while walking five Warriors. AU's top two batters in the lineup, Max Mosser and Carter Howell, combined to go 6-8 with six runs and four RBIs to put damage in the scorebook.
Nick Herbst, Kapanke, and Hawksford each recorded a hit for Winona State while Wall drove in the Warriors only run. Banaszynski suffered the loss on the mound, giving up five runs on five hits while striking out five batters in four innings pitched.
Winona State will head to Upper Iowa for a three-game series this weekend. The two teams will face off in a doubleheader that is scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 23 at 1:30pm and then a single game on Sunday, Apr. 24 at noon.
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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.
