WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State University softball team celebrated senior day in style, with a pair of runaway wins over the University of Mary on Saturday, mauling the Marauders by 7-2 and 14-0 scorelines.

Winona State starting pitchers Liz Pautz and Abby Smith each showed excellent command in their games, as did game two reliever Emilee Erickson, as the Warrior staff walked only one batter across two games.  Additionally, WSU was flawless in the field committing zero errors on the day, running the Warrior win total to 29 on the season.

Game One

Liz Pautz struck out 15 batters of the 21 outs Winona State recorded in the game, while the offense was quick to get started, plating four runs in the first frame.

Abbie Hlas homered in her first at-bat, followed moments later by a home run from Teaghen Amwoza with Marissa Mullen and Rylee Stout aboard.

UMary spoiled the shutout when Saria Perez hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth, but Ann Smolenski matched that effort in the bottom of the same frame, hitting her fifth home run of the season over the left field fence. Rylee Stout continued the offensive push in the fourth when she singled to score Sam Keller.

Stout continued to have the hot bat in the sixth inning, hitting a solo home run to score the Warriors' seventh and final run of the contest.

UMary added one more to their tally in the top of the seventh when Rachel Laetsch hit a double down the right field line, scoring Perez. 

In the circle, Pautz continued her amazing 2022 run, striking out 15 batters while walking only one. The Marauders managed just three hits and scored two runs, both earned as the senior from Pulaski, Wis. earned her 

At the plate, Ann Smolenski was 2-for-3 with a home run and a double, while Teaghen Amwoza drove in three RBI to lead Winona State in that category. The four home runs by the Warriors in the game were just one short of the season-best mark of five, achieved against both Sioux Falls and Northwest Missouri State.

Game Two

Abby Smith got the start for the Warriors in game two and threw a one-hit gem against the Marauders.

Smith enjoyed strong run support starting in the second inning when WSU scored six runs. Kayla Kerkman collected an RBI on an infield error, and then singles by Sam Keller and Abbie Hlas had the Warriors up 3-0. One swing of Carly Engelhardt's bat doubled the Warrior lead as she hit a three-run home run over the fence in left, moving the Warrior advantage to 6-0.

WSU added two more in the third inning, when Hlas hit her second home run of the day, scoring Sam Keller in the process. For Hlas, the blast marked her sixth homer of the season, tied for third in the team so far.
Winona State then turned in a fourth inning that looked much like the second, scoring another six runs while collecting four base hits, combined with a bases-loaded walk to move the scoreline to 14-0 Warriors.

In the big inning, Kerkman and Hlas singled in Ann Smolenski and Logan Anderson, respectively, to start the rally and Zoe May continued it, driving a base hit down the line in right field to score Kerkman.
Ann Smolenski drew a bases-loaded walk to earn an RBI and then Logan Anderson singled to left to plate Brianna Luciano to complete the scoring at 14-0.

Abby Smith went three innings, yielding just one hit, before giving way to Emilee Erickson in the final frame. Erickson retired the side in order to complete the game.  Neither Warrior pitcher conceded a walk in the game and the WSU staff struck out three UMary batters in the five-inning affair.

Winona State honored their four seniors in between the two victories, with Liz Pautz, Kayla Kerkman, Rylee Stout and Ann Smolenski earning the appreciation of the crowd.  The four Warriors have been a part of 173 wins, just 45 losses, and two trips to the NCAA Tournament across their distinguished careers. The foursome racked up an NSIC record of 83-13, winning two league championships and one NSIC Tournament title. 

Next up for the Warriors (29-11, 15-3) is Minot State University(23-15, 8-8 NSIC), a team that has dropped three straight contests, including suffering a doubleheader sweep at Upper Iowa on Saturday. 

The Beavers own an 8-8 NSIC mark and earned a split against the Warriors in the 2021 regular season.  Winona State beat Minot State 6-5 in the NSIC Softball tournament on May 13, 2021, the most recent meeting between the two teams.

The Beavers and Warriors will face off at noon at Johnson Field in Winona in game one of their NSIC doubleheader.