MINOT, N.D. - The Winona State University softball team battled back in game one to pick up a NSIC win on the road over Minot State on Saturday, April 22, but was unable to pull off the comeback feat in game two, settling for a split with the Beavers.
Abby Smith earned her 15th win of the season in a 4-3 compete game effort in the opener at Minot State but WSU fell to MSU 5-3 in the nightcap.
Winona State 4, Minot State 3
Abby Smith scattered six Beaver hits over seven full innings to claim the win as Winona State saw a two-run sixth inning prove to be the difference in the game.
Abbie Hlas,
Marissa Mullen and
Logan Anderson all had two hits apiece, accounting for six of the eight Warrior hits overall in the opener. Anderson and Hlas combined to set the table for
Carly Engelhardt in the sixth inning, with Engelhardt driving a ball to left field, scoring Anderson on a sacrifice fly. Moments later, Mullen's single to left scored
Macy Brodin, giving Winona State their first - and only - lead of the game at 4-3 Warriors.
After a scoreless top of the seventh for WSU, Smith forced an infield pop-up for the first out and then collected back-to-back strikeouts to clinch the victory. Smith finished the game with four strikeouts overall and conceded three runs, two of which were earned.
As a team, Winona State scored four times on eight hits while committing a pair of miscues. The host Beavers had three runs on six hits and committed four errors in the field.
Minot State 5, Winona State 3
Winona State scored a pair of runs to take an early lead but Minot State notched two runs late to deal WSU a rare North Dakota loss and leave the teams with a split of the their April 22 NSIC doubleheader.
Savannah Serdynski,
Abbie Hlas,
Carly Engelhardt and
Libby Neveau all collected doubles for a Warrior offense that was held to just seven hits overall. Engelhardt collected two RBI to lead WSU, both of which came in the third inning on a double that scored Hlas and Serdynski.
In the fifth frame, Hlas collected a RBI of her own with a double, scoring Serdynski who had bunted for a hit moments earlier. However, for WSU, the one-run fifth inning would be the final scoring of the day, while Minot State went on to score twice in the bottom of the sixth to claim the narrow, 5-3 win.
Skyler Calmes started in the Warrior circle, going four full innings, striking out three and walking two Beavers.
Abbie Hlas took over in the fifth and was tagged with the loss, allowing two runs, both earned.
With the split, Winona State moves to 31-12 overall and 14-4 in NSIC play. The Warriors will wrap up their North Dakota trip at the University of Mary tomorrow, Sunday, April 23. WSU and UMary will open up their doubleheader at 2 p.m. in Bismarck, North Dakota.
