ROCHESTER, Minn. – Winona State softball began the 2026 season with a dominating doubleheader sweep over Grand View University by scores of 10-2 and 8-1.
The Warriors combined timely hitting and efficient pitching to pick up a pair of victories and start their season 2-0.
Izzy Howe and
Jayda Berg each collected wins in the circle while 10 different Warriors tallied a hit at the plate.
Game One: WSU (10) - GV (2)
Winona State opened the 2026 season with five straight batters reaching base as the Warriors tallied five runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Lila McNeill drove in the game's first run on a line drive off the fence to bring across
Bryn Elsenpeter. Later in the first,
Jenna James and
Braelee Jodarski rattled off a pair of RBI singles to extend the lead.
The Warriors added one run in each of the next three innings, while Howe surrendered just two runs across 5.0 innings of work while striking out four batters. The Warriors garnered a pair of runs in the sixth inning, capped by a Teigan Mancuso single to walk off the 10-2 run-rule victory for WSU.
Indigo Fish,
Hannah Soderbeck, James, and Mancuso all had multi-hit games at the plate as eight batters in the Warrior lineup recorded a hit.
Game Two: WSU (8) - GV (1)
After a quick 1-2-3 inning from Berg in the top of the first, Elsenpeter started the Warrior lineup with a full count walk and later scored on a Fish single up the middle to give WSU a 1-0 lead after one. Winona State poured in four more runs on five hits in the second inning, then
Nicole Weinberger hit a solo shot to right center in the third to make the score 6-0 in favor of WSU. The Warriors surrendered a run in the fifth but added two of their own in the sixth to extend the lead.
Berg continued efficient work in the circle, allowing just one unearned run and two hits en route to Winona State's 8-1 victory. In total, Berg struck out nine batters while giving up just one walk. Weinberger led the WSU lineup with a pair of hits, with six others recording one hit each.
Winona State now travels south to Branson, Mo. for the NCAA DII battle where they will face Truman State, Southwest Baptist, and William Jewell this weekend.
