WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University softball team will travel to Rochester, Minn. to play a neutral site double header in the RCTC Dome against Grand View University on Tuesday, February 11 with first pitch for game one set for 12 p.m. and game two to follow game one. 

The Warriors look to start their 2025 season with the help of the Winona State Player and Pitcher to Watch, Sam Keller and Izzy Howe. Both Keller and Howe return to the Warriors softball team after both having a great 2024 season. In 2024, Keller led the way in home runs, slugging percentage, at bats, tied for starts, and tied for hits. Howe led on the mound with ERA, inning pitched, and strikeouts in the 2024 season. Both Keller and Howe along with the rest of the Warriors softball team are under the helm of head coach Greg Jones, who holds a 962-336-4 record in his 25th season at Winona State University. Under the direction of Jones, WSU softball made their 28th post-season run in their 2024 season with a record of 33-20 overall and 17-9 in the NSIC.

Winona State will open their season against their non-conference opponent, the Grand View University Vikings. GVU ended their 2024 season with a overall record of 33-19 and a conference record of 14-10. Grand View made a post season run going 3-2 in the conference tournament and 0-2 in the first round of the NAIA tournament. The Vikings are apart of the NAIA and have started their season at the beginning of February, which they have a record of 1-3 going into Tuesday's double header against the Warriors. GVU played in Defender Classic and faced Midland University first with a tough 2-7 loss. The Vikings then played Dordt University where they fell 2-5. Grand View's third game was against Morningside University and earned themselves a 5-2 win. The last contest, the Vikings played in the Defender Classic was against Northwestern College, where GVU lost in a heart breaking 3-4 final score.  

The Warriors and the Vikings meet for the 18th time in school history where WSU holds a 14-4 record against GVU. In their last meeting in 2024, Winona State split against Grand View dropping the first game 10-2 and then picking up a win in the second game, 10-0. 

In addition to Keller in the field, the Warriors bring back some key returners, which includes Kiley Slaats, Alyssa Woelfel, Logan Anderson, Ashlee Chantos, and Zoe May. Along side Howe, WSU has Jayda Berg returning to the mound for her sophomore season. The Warriors have a young group of ladies, but return some key players in their line up for the 2025 season.