SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Winona State University baseball team competes today, May 11, in Brandon, S.D., taking on Minot State University in the first round of the 2022 NSIC Baseball Tournament, with first pitch between the Beavers and the Warriors set for 1:30 p.m.
Winona State (16-21, 14-12 NSIC) will take on Minot State (26-21, 20-12 NSIC) for the fourth time this season, having hosted the Beavers on March 27-28 in a three-game NSIC series. WSU dropped two of three to MSU on that occasion, with the Warriors winning 4-3 to open the trio of contests, but falling 7-1 and 14-1 in games two and three, respectively.
On Wednesday, the two teams will play at 12:30 p.m. at FNBF Field in Brandon, S.D., with the Beavers as the No. 4 seed and the Warriors at No. 5. In the nine-inning game, Winona State will be the visiting team. The appearance in the 2022 NSIC Baseball Tournament is the fourth straight NSIC postseason trip for Winona State, having qualified in 2018, 2019, and, 2021. Due to the pandemic, there was no NSIC tournament in 2020.
Since 2013, Minot State has managed a slight advantage over the Warriors, notching a 13-10 win-loss mark; however, Winona State has won three of the last five. In terms of postseason matchups, Winona State and Minot State met in 2019 in an elimination game won by the Beavers, 11-10 in St. Cloud, Minn.
The Warriors enter the postseason on several streaks, both individually and collectively.
Joshua Hawksford has hit safely in 11 straight games, a stretch that includes two home runs. Winona State does not run as often as some teams, but when they do, they are typically successful, as six Warriors have perfect stolen base records, led by Nick Herbst who is five-for-five on the season. In the 2022 campaign, Winona State has not been shut out in their 37 games played.
Lately, Cooper Kapanke has had the hot bat - and a heavy bat at that - hitting three home runs in his last four games. Kapanke has the team lead in homers on the season with eight, while Derek Baumgartner has seven. Carter Brinkman leads WSU with a .307 average and 42 base hits on the season.
Winona State has now qualified for 16 NSIC Tournaments under head coach Kyle Poock, who has been at the Warrior helm for 20 years. Poock announced his retirement effective the end of the 2022 season back in March and will finish second in all-time wins, games coached, and seasons served as head coach. The final chapter for Poock's career has not yet been written, as WSU has precedent for catching lightning in a bottle in the post-season.
In 2011, Winona State finished their NSIC slate with a respectable 25-9 mark but went on to finish runner up in the NSIC Tournament and qualify for the NCAA Regional. There, WSU captured the NCAA regional crown and advanced to the College World Series, finishing as the runner-up that season. And, in 2014, WSU was the No. 5 seed but played their way to the NSIC championship game, upsetting No. 4 seed Concordia,St. Paul to open their run.
In 2022, Winona State has won seven of its final nine contests to close out the season, enjoys a healthy and upwardly-trending pitching staff, and is seeing several hitters, notably Kapanke, Hawksford, and Baumgartner, heating up at just the right time.
The winner of the NSIC Baseball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The 39-team NCAA Central Region is made up of teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.
The championship preliminary round competition provides for 16 regional sites that consist of 4-teams, and double-elimination tournaments. The winners of these regional-round competitions advance to a super-regional round that consists of two teams competing in a best-of-three series.
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.
