WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University (25-11 / 11-3 NSIC) softball team hits the road and travels to Wayne State College today, Thursday April 21, for a NSIC doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. against the Wildcats. The contests were originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 20 but moved to Thursday due to weather.
Last weekend, the Warriors took three of four games in a pair of doubleheaders against the University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State University. WSU split with UMD, winning game one 3-1 but falling in the nightcap 10-7. The Warriors swept the Huskies 9-1 and 3-1 on Sunday, April 17 at home on Johnson Field.
Starting pitcher
Liz Pautz leads the NSIC in total strikeouts with 237 so far on the year and is second in total wins with 17. Pautz's strikeout mark is fourth nationally across all of NCAA Division II and the senior from Pulaski, Wis. is ninth in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 8.14 K/BB.
As a team, Winona State is second in the NSIC in batting average at .330 and is led by the tandem of
Abbie Hlas who is hitting .441 and
Sam Keller batting .420, respectively. Keller leads the league in doubles (18) while Hlas is tenth in the same category with 11.
Rylee Stout tops the WSU charts in home runs with 7, just one more than Warrior teammates
Marissa Mullen and
Carly Engelhardt who have six apiece.
Winona State is ranked ninth in the current NCAA Division II Central Region poll, released on April 20.
Wayne State welcomes the Warriors to Pete Chapman Field holding an 11-28 overall record and 8-10 mark in the NSIC. Most recently, WSC swept Northern State University 6-5 and 17-6 on Saturday, April 16.
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.
