WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University softball team might have been the visitors on the scoreboard on Saturday, but the Warriors were very much at home in a key NSIC sweep over the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Scheduled originally as road games but played in Winona due to weather conditions in Crookston, WSU beat UMC 8-0 in game one and 15-0 in game two to register their first back-to-back shutout wins of the 2022 campaign. Across the two games, the Warriors nearly hit as many home runs on the day (5) as the Golden Eagles mustered in total hits (6).
Game One
Liz Pautz took the circle in game one and threw a three-hit gem, while receiving strong run support from her team in the early innings.
The Warriors - batting first as the away team - racked up six runs before Pautz threw a single pitch, as
Abbie Hlas and
Libby Neveau both homered in the opening inning. Hlas' home run also scored
Sam Keller who started the inning with a first-pitch double to left field. Then, Neveau's grand slam plated
Teaghen Amwoza,
Carly Engelhardt and
Marissa Mullen, putting WSU in the drivers seat of the game and they never looked back.
The second inning saw two more Warrior runs as Neveau drew a bases-loaded walk to score
Rylee Stout, followed by a sacrifice fly by
Ann Smolenski moments later that scored Mullen. The two runs proved to be all the additional offense needed on the day as Pautz struck out nine Golden Eagles while walking just one. A diving grab by Hlas at shortstop on the Golden Eagle's Dana Zarn highlighted a day in which the Warriors were dialed in defensively. UMC managed just three singles in the game as Pautz moved her season record to 13-4.
At the plate, Winona State saw
Libby Neveau lead the Warrior way with five RBI, while Keller, Mullen and Smolenski each went 2-for-3. As a team, WSU scored eight runs on ten hits and did not commit an error.
Game Two
In game two, Winona State received another stellar pitching performance, this time from
Abbie Hlas, who held the Golden Eagles scoreless while striking out eight UMC batters.
Hlas held Minnesota Crookston at bay for the first few innings - including striking out the side in the second - as the WSU offense took a while to warm up. However, once the Warriors hit their stride in the final stages of the game, the sweep was imminent.
After being held scoreless in the first frame and scoring just one run in the second, Winona State exploded for 14 runs in the final three frames.
Brianna Luciano singled to right field to start off the fourth and scored a short time later when
Sam Keller doubled her home. After a series of Golden Eagle errors,
Carly Engelhardt hit a three-run home run, clearing the bases of
Marissa Mullen and
Rylee Stout. Then, batting for the second time in the inning, Luciano laced a single to center field, scoring
Teaghen Amwoza and putting Winona State up 10-0 after four.
In the fifth inning,
Sam Keller hit her second leadoff double of the day, and third double overall, to jumpstart another Warrior rally. Back-to-back singles by Cammi Riemmer and Stout scored Keller and put runners on the corners for
Logan Anderson. Anderson proceeded to hit her first career home run for Winona State, pushing the WSU lead to 14-0 at that point. Losheck added an RBI single to score
Zoe May to push the Warrior lead to 15-0.
Offensively, WSU was led by
Carly Engelhardt with two home runs, while
Sam Keller had two doubles and
Libby Neveau had one extra-base hit as well. Anderson's home run yielded three RBI in the game, while Engelhardt drove in five runs.
Brianna Luciano was 2-for-3 with a walk and
Teaghen Amwoza was 3-for-3 in the game. With the win,
Abbie Hlas moved to 5-4 on the year and picked up her third complete-game shutout of the season.
Minnesota Crookston was held to just three hits and committed three errors in the contest. Winona State scored 15 runs on 16 hits and was flawless in the field.
Winona State will host Bemidji State on Sunday; like the UMC doubleheader, the Warriors will be the visiting team on the scoreboard due to NSIC site-reversal rules. The Beavers and Warriors are set for a noon first pitch at Maynard R. Johnson Field in Winona.
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.
