WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University baseball team competes at home in the cozy confines of Loughrey Field for the final time of the 2022 NSIC baseball season today, Tuesday, May 3, as the Warriors host the University of Sioux Falls Cougars, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
The doubleheader marks the final home stand for long-time head coach
Kyle Poock, who
announced his retirement on March 15. Heading into today's contests, Poock sits at 486 - 426 - 2, good for a .535 winning percentage garnered over twenty seasons as the head coach of the Warriors. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the WSU Athletic Department and the Warrior baseball team will honor coach Poock prior to game today.
The two teams last faced off on May 2, 2021, a 9-6 Warrior win in Sioux Falls with
Dillon Whittaker earning the victory. The two teams have split the last six contests with three wins apiece between WSU and USF.
Winona State (12-20, 10-11 NSIC) is coming off a doubleheader split with Wayne State in a pair of close ballgames. The Warriors fell in game one to the Wildcats, 5-3, but rebounded to win 6-3 in the back half of the twin bill.
Joshua Hawksford has been an offensive catalyst for Winona State, riding a seven-game hitting streak and instrumental on the basepaths where he is 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts Warrior teammate Carter Brinkman is also 3-for-3 in stolen bases on the year, and leads Winona State in batting average at .331. Brinkman also owns the team lead in total hits (39) and RBI (22), while Derek Baumgartner is tops in the home run category with six.
On the mound, Nicolas Herold has notched a 4-1 record so far this season with 38.0 innings pitched, while Kyle Gendron and Caleb Strack both sit at 2-1 on the year. Justin Firpo, Peter Tveite and Zach Watzka have all been key in relief efforts during the 2022 campaign, with both Firpo and Tveite claiming a pair of saves on the season.
In the NSIC baseball ranks, Winona State is sitting in sixth place with a on a .476 conference winning percentage while Sioux Falls is fifth at .485. After today's doubleheader with the Cougars, Winona State will wrap up the 2022 regular season at Concordia St. Paul in a three-game series against the Golden Bears on Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7.
The NSIC Baseball Tournament will welcome the top eight teams at the completion of the regular season in a double-elimination tournament played May 11-14 in Sioux Falls and Brandon, South Dakota. The NSIC will announce tournament participants at the conclusion of all 2022 regular season games, currently scheduled to wrap up Saturday, May 7.
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.
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