DULUTH, Minn. - After a long stretch of home games, the Winona State University softball team ventured north on Friday, April 14, to take on the University of Minnesota Duluth. Playing in Malosky Stadium at UMD, the Bulldogs were able to contain the Warrior offense and dealt WSU a pair of losses.
UMD took game one by a 10-0 scoreline and Winona State battled back to force extra innings in the nightcap, eventually falling 6-5 in the tenth inning.
Minnesota Duluth 10, Winona State 0
Game one saw host UMD hit two home runs with Bulldogs aboard in the first inning to take a 6-0 lead early on. Minnesota Duluth would go on to add single runs in the second and third frames and two more in the bottom of the fourth to end the game, 10-0 in five innings.
Winona State was held to three hits as a team, with
Abbie Hlas,
Teaghen Amwoza and
Cammi Riemer serving as the only Warriors to reach base. UMD pitcher Lauren Dixon did not walk a Warrior and struck out six WSU batters in a complete-game performance.
WSU starting pitcher
Abbie Hlas threw three and 1/3 innings before giving way to
Morgan Smetana in the fourth frame. Hlas struck out three UMD batters and allowed seven hits.
Overall, UMD scored ten runs on eight hits and did not commit an error. As a team, Winona State was held scoreless on three hits and had one miscue in the field.
Minnesota Duluth 6, Winona State 5 (10-innings)
Winona State battled back with a three-run seventh inning to tie the the nightcap against Minnesota Duluth before falling 6-5 in ten innings.
UMD scored five runs in the bottom of the second but the Warriors responded with a pair of scores to close the gap to 5-2, a scoreline that would stay the same through the next three innings.
In the top of the seventh,
Abbie Hlas led off with a single to spark the Winona State offense, as
Carly Engelhardt and
Marissa Mullen quickly joined Hlas on the base paths.
Libby Neveau drove in Hlas with a single to make the score 5-3. After two WSU outs,
Logan Anderson and
Dana Jones scored after
Zoe May drove a ball to left field, tying the game at 5-5.
In the bottom of the seventh, Warrior pitcher
Abby Smith retired three consecutive UMD batters after the Bulldogs put one aboard, forcing extra innings in the contest.
Neither team scored in the eighth or ninth innings, but in the bottom of the tenth, a Minnesota Duluth solo homer by Kat Burkardt ended the affair at 6-5.
In the game, Winona State collected five runs on 11 hits and did not commit an error. Host UMD (27-8, 13-3 NSIC) scored six runs on eight hits and had one error as a team.
Winona State (28-11, 11-3 NSIC) will play against St. Cloud State on Sunday, April 16, in a NSIC doubleheader. WSU and SCSU will play at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minn. with a noon first pitch scheduled for the Warriors and the Huskies.
