ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Winona State University softball team enters the final day of the 2022 NSIC Softball Tournament on Saturday, May 7, with the opportunity to compete for the conference tournament championship.
Winona State (39-14, 23-5 NSIC) has earned a 2-1 record so far in the competition, defeating Concordia, St. Paul 8-7 on Thursday on a
Libby Neveau grand slam home run and then repeated the process on Friday against Minnesota State - Mankato, when
Carly Engelhardt delivered a clutch home run with the bases loaded to cap a seven-run fifth inning, leading to a 8-2 Warrior win.
Friday afternoon, WSU was dealt their first setback of the postseason, and first loss in 11 games, as the top-seeded Augustana University Vikings blanked WSU, 3-0. The loss pushed Winona State to the other side of the tournament bracket, where they will have to battle back through the winner of Minnesota State and the University of Sioux Falls. The Mavericks and Cougars will compete at 10 a.m. with the winner advancing to face Winona State at noon, and the loser heading home.
Winona State is 2-0 against the University of Sioux Falls this season, including a perfect game victory pitched by
Liz Pautz on April 2, a 8-0 home win for the Warriors. WSU is 1-2 against Minnesota State this season, dropping a pair of contests played in the Maverick All-Sports Dome in April, but winning the first postseason matchup between the two teams on Friday.
Liz Pautz pitched a complete game against MSU-Mankato on Friday, the 55th of her career, and in the contest against the Mavericks, ran her all-time strikeout mark to 786. The senior from Pulaski, Wis. has earned 756 strikeouts as a Warrior and collected 30 in her first NCAA season, spent at UW-Green Bay. Pautz has played in 105 games in her career, starting 90 of those, and collected 25 wins already in 2022. In NCAA Division II softball ranks, she is number one in the country in strikeouts-per-seven-innings at 12.7 and 11th in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 7.74. Against Concordia, St. Paul on Thursday, Pautz picked up the save, the third of her career.
Winona State received a standout effort from
Abby Smith in the circle on Friday against Augustana, as the freshman from Hartland, Wis. held one of the top offenses in the country to five hits and three runs. Unfortunately for the Warrior faithful, the WSU bats were also largely held in check by the Vikings, and AU turned a pair of double plays to defuse two different scoring situations for Winona State in the 3-0 loss. Smith has earned seven wins so far in 2022, stepping up at key times for head coach
Greg Jones.
WSU is led at the plate by
Abbie Hlas, hitting .483, good for seventh in the nation in NCAA Division II. Hlas has help in the form of
Sam Keller, whose 20 doubles have her in a tie for eighth in NCAA Division II softball. The pair form a formidable top of the Warrior lineup that has the team ranked second in the NSIC in average (.336) and base hits (476).
In the NSIC postseason, Winona State has used the long ball to its advantage, with grand slams from
Carly Engelhardt and
Libby Neveau, as well as a homer by
Abbie Hlas who went yard against CSP on Friday. Neveau and Engelhardt have two home runs total in the NSIC Tournament so far, while
Rylee Stout has two doubles and
Marissa Mullen, one.
Teaghen Amwoza delivered a triple in the Warrior win over the Mavericks.
The Winona State game at noon on Saturday against either the University of Sioux Falls or Minnesota State will be an elimination contest for the losing side. The winner of the noon showdown will advance to the NSIC Tournament Championship, scheduled for 2 p.m., where Augustana University awaits.
For all things NSIC Tournament, including live stream, live stats, updated bracket, and schedule,
head to this link.
