MANKATO, Minn. - The Winona State University softball team has the opportunity to make waves in the NSIC and the NCAA Division II central region, as the Warriors travel to Mankato to take on No. 18 Minnesota State, today Tuesday, April 26. The doubleheader against the Mavericks will begin at 11 a.m. and will be played in the MSU Maverick All-Sports Dome.
The Warriors (31-11 / 17-3 NSIC) are riding an eight-game winning streak and have shown resilience over that stretch, coming from behind in games against Wayne State and Minot State to capture exciting victories.
In the circle, WSU is led by one of the premier strikeout artists in the nation, as pitcher
Liz Pautz leads NCAA Division II softball in strikeouts per seven innings at 12.7 and is seventh nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 8.00.
Abby Smith has won her last three successive starts and is 4-1 on the year for the Warriors.
At the plate, Winona State has seen the top of the order produce prodigious numbers over the past two weeks, as
Sam Keller,
Abbie Hlas and
Rylee Stout have combined for double-digit run totals in three of the last six contests. Keller and Hlas both have batting averages over the .420 mark and Stout leads the team in homers with eight. When a spark is needed, head coach
Greg Jones has turned to a deep bench, led by
Logan Anderson who entered the Warriors' most recent contest as a pinch hitter and subsequently delivered two home runs and the game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly for a walk-off Warrior win against Minot State on Sunday.
When Minnesota State and Winona State face off today, the contest will showcase the third-ranked and ninth-ranked teams in the region. WSU is second in the NSIC standings and MSU-Mankato third, making the Warriors-Mavericks the marquee matchup in mid-week softball action in the league.
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.
