WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University baseball team battled back against Concordia University, St. Paul on Thursday, with a late-inning rally falling short in game one but an impressive team effort allowing the Warriors to collect a key NSIC win in the nightcap within the cozy confines of Loughrey Field.
Winona State rallied in the seventh inning versus CSP in the opener but ultimately fell 5-3 to the Golden Bears. A strong, combined, Warrior pitching effort in game two allowed Winona State to earn a Thursday split against Concordia, St. Paul in the nightcap.
Game 1: Concordia St. Paul 5, Winona State 3 | WSU saw CSP enjoy a strong start in game one, racing out to a 3-0 lead after five frames. However, WSU would answer with an
Alex Berreth RBI single in the sixth inning to close the gap to 3-1. The Golden Bears would plate a pair of runs in the seventh inning, but pinch-hitter
Jack Funke hit a solo homer to spark a potential Warrior rally in the last at-bats for WSU.
Jess Ondell followed up Funke's blast with an RBI single that scored catcher
Ben Hefel, but Winona State was held at bay the rest of the way.
Cameron Kramer had the start for WSU and went 4 and 2/3 innings, earning a strikeout along the way.
Theo Giedd and
Boyd Skelley saw brief relief appearances in the middle innings, while
Mason Beltrand finished up on the Warrior mound. Combined, the Warrior staff struck out four Golden Bears, walked five, and conceded nine hits overall. WSU saw a pair of impressive Warrior double plays in the contest.
Game 2: Winona State 4, Concordia St. Paul 3 | Winona State scored a pair of runs in the first inning and added two more in the third to flip the script on CSP and earn a 4-3 win. The Golden Bears clawed back into the contest with a run scored in the fifth frame and another in the eighth inning, but Winona State saw an unconventional save effort from frequent starter
Peter Tveite preserve an important NSIC victory.
WSU received doubles from
Cole Fuecker and
Ryland Wall in the contest, and it was rampant on the base paths, stealing a season-high five bases. Fuecker, Wall, and MasonTrocke all had multi-hit games for head coach
Seth Wing, but Tveite's impressive ninth-inning effort with a pair of strikeouts allowed WSU to claim the split in the contest.
Winona State (14-23, 11-16 NSIC) is next in action on Saturday, April 20, at 1:30 p.m., traveling west to face Southwest Minnesota State. The Warriors and Mustangs are set for a two-day, three-game series that wraps up Sunday, April 21, in Marshall, Minn.
