WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University baseball team was dealt a pair of setbacks by St. Cloud State, falling to the Huskies by 8-1 and 8-4 scorelines.
Winona State scored first in game one but St. Cloud State tallied two 3-run innings to pull away from WSU to take the opener. In the nightcap, SCSU used a five-run seventh inning to offset a late Warrior rally to complete the sweep.
Game 1: SCSU 8, Winona State 1 | Winona State starter
Cameron Kramer went four full innings, yielding eight hits and conceeding three runs, two of which were earned. WSU saw things turn south in the middle innings of the seven inning affair as a trio of Warrior relievers allowed five runs before
Owen Schmidt completed the game for the home side.
Offensively, Winona State was held to two hits by SCSU's Kaden Pfeffer, one of which was an RBI double by
Alex Berreth in the first inning. Berreth belted his double to the warning track to score
Connor Weed who had reached on an error.
Ryland Wall added a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the seventh for the only other Warrior hit in the game.
Game 2 : SCSU 8, Winona State 4 | WSU answered a SCSU solo home run with an
Austin Beyer RBI sacrifice fly to knot the teams at 1-1 after four innings. Winona State would take a brief 2-1 lead when Josh Hawksford executed a perfect safety squeeze bunt play to score
Alex Berreth but SCSU would storm back with five run seventh frame. The Huskies would add two more runs in the top of the eighth, offsetting a pair of Warrior runs in the same frame.
Winona State starter
Logan LeTourneau turned in a solid six innings, holding SCSU to just three hits while striking out five. Three different Warrior pitchers,
Cole Stanchina,
Andrew Regner and
Peyton Lee, would take the hill before yielding to
Mason Beltrand. Beltrand had an impressive final frame, striking out two SCSU batters but WSU was unable mount anything offensively in the bottom of the ninth.
At the plate,
Alex Berreth was 3-for-4 with a double and triple in the game. Josh Hawksford added two hits, including a double.
Jack Funke had two stolen bases.
Winona State (19-27, 16-20 NSIC) will wrap up the regular season with a three-game home series against Wayne State College over May 3-4. WSU and WSC will face off in an NSIC doubleheader on Friday, with a 1:30 p.m. first pitch. On Saturday, the Warriors and Wildcats will wrap up the series with a single, nine-inning game beginning at noon; all contests are set for the cozy confines of Loughrey Field.