WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University softball team beat Northern State University in two decidedly different ways on Sunday, April 30 to close out the 2023 NSIC regular season, winning game one in walk off fashion 6-5 in 11 innings and then owning the nightcap from the start in a 8-1 Warrior victory.
In both games,
Libby Neveau gained ground on the all-time Winona State home run mark, as the senior from Oshkosh, Wis. hit one home run in game one and put two more over the fence in game two to finish the day with 47 in her Warrior career, currently the second-most in Warrior history. Neveau's 16 homers in 2023 rank second in the NSIC this spring.
Winona State 6, Northern State 5 (11 innings)
Winona State found themselves down 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning when
Libby Neveau hit a home run to left field with
Corinna Loshek aboard to knot the game at 4-4 and force extra innings against the visiting Wolves, a team that had owned a two-run advantage since the top of the fifth frame.
Both teams plated a run in the eighth inning to remain deadlocked and WSU held NSU scoreless over the next two innings before
Abbie Hlas hit a walk-off double deep to center field to score
Savannah Serdynski to complete the comeback.
Winona State racked up the hits in the game - 17 total - but stranded runners on a handful of occasions throughout the contest. WSU left 17 runners on base overall while the 17 hits were just one shy of the season high-water mark of 18 set against the University of Mary on April 23.
Although it took a while for the Warrior offense to finally punch through the winning run, the pitching tandem of
Abby Smith and
Skyler Calmes kept WSU in the game with a solid outing in the circle. Smith got the start and threw the first eight innings, striking out seven and walking only two. Calmes entered in the ninth and held Northern State scoreless while conceding just one hit. Following Hlas' heroics, Calmes claimed the win, her sixth of the season.
Neveau was 3-for-6 in the game, collecting three RBI overall.
Marissa Mullen also delivered a home run in the game, also part of an impressive 3-for-6 day at the plate. In addition to her game-winning double,
Abbie Hlas had a triple and earned a walk, while
Savannah Serdynski was a team-best 4-for-5 while also drawing a base on balls.
Logan Anderson was the fifth multi-hit Warrior with a pair of base hits including a double.
Winona State 8, Northern State 1
Winona State carried the momentum of their game one win into the nightcap, beating NSU 8-1, courtesy in part of a four-run first frame.
Libby Neveau picked up where she left off in the opener, hitting a home run with Warrior teammate
Marissa Mullen on base to give WSU a 2-0 lead early on.
Cammi Riemer followed Neveau's long ball with one of her own moments later, scoring herself and
Teaghen Amwoza who had reached base on a walk. WSU added one run in the bottom of the second inning on a
Abbie Hlas solo shot to go up 5-0 after two.
NSU did not get on the board until the fourth inning, stringing together a trio of singles to score a run. The first hit of the frame, a single to shallow center, broke up a no-hit and perfect game outing up to that point by Warrior pitcher
Abbie Hlas. The junior from Adel, Iowa had retired the side in the first three frames, a run that included a great grab by
Carly Engelhardt in the second inning on a hard line drive by NSU's Elly Smith. Hlas would go to cruise to the victory, her 14th of the season, scattering six hits over seven innings while striking out six.
WSU wrapped up the scoring in the fifth inning, with
Libby Neveau collecting her second home run of the game - and third of the day - followed by a
Savannah Serdynski base hit which scored
Cammi Riemer.
Neveau would finish the contest by going 3-for-4 with four RBI, while
Cammi Riemer and
Macy Brodin added two hits apiece to the Warrior effort. As a team, WSU would collect 11 hits overall; four home runs, and seven singles.
With the sweep, Winona State extended its winning streak over Northern State to five straight and has won 12 of the last 13 against the Wolves.
Combined with results from around the league as the NSIC regular season campaign concluded, WSU finishes 2023 with a 20-6 overall conference mark and will be the No. 3 seed in the 2023 NSIC Softball Tournament, set to start on Wednesday, May 3 at the RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minnesota.
