KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The Winona State University baseball team split its opening NSIC doubleheader with the Minot State Beavers.
The Warriors fell 9-6 in game one on Friday, then won 8-7 in the back-and-forth nightcap against MISU.
Game One: MISU (9) – WSU (6)
After allowing two runs in the top of the first, the Warriors responded in a big way with a grand slam from
Adam Wall that put WSU up 4-2 after one. Minot State retook the lead with a four-spot in the top of the second after a two-run home run and a two-run single.
Dylan Harer knocked home
Connor Greuel on an RBI double in the bottom of the second to bring Winona State within one run at 6-5.
Strong pitching by both teams held the game scoreless until the top of the sixth when MISU tallied three runs, expanding the Beavers' advantage to 9-5.
Garrett Hietpas cut the deficit to 9-6 after an RBI groundout scored
Max Pederson in the bottom of the sixth. Minot State shut down the Warriors hitters in the bottom of the seventh inning to give them the conference win.
Seven Warriors tallied a hit in the game with Harer recording a team-high two hits with Wall leading the RBI charge with his grand slam.
Hunter Guenther (1-1) suffered the loss for WSU as he went 1.0 inning while giving up six earned runs on four hits and three walks.
Sawyer Hoffman pitched the next 5.0 innings, giving up three runs with two earned. He allowed five hits and struck out seven hitters.
Logan LaPlante finished the game throwing a scoreless seventh inning.
Game Two: WSU (8) – MISU (7)
Winona State came out blazing hot in the bottom of the first with a pair of two-run home runs from Harer and
Jack Funke that gave WSU a quick 4-0 edge after one inning. Colton Bagshaw hit a solo shot in the top of the third to cut the Beavers deficit to 4-1. In the bottom of the third, Wall cranked his second home run of the day with a solo shot, giving the Warriors a 5-1 lead after three innings.
Minot State scored two runs in the fourth and four in the fifth, propelled by back-to-back home runs by the Beavers, making the game 7-5 MISU. WSU tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single by Harer scoring
Dominic Borecky. In the next at-bat,
Easton Arendt knotted the game at 7-7 after an RBI single scored Hietpas.
Strong innings on the bump by
Wesley Johnson kept the contest tied at 7-7 until the Warriors retook the lead in the bottom of the eighth after an RBI walk by Wall scored Borecky, putting WSU in front at 8-7 heading to the ninth. Johnson mowed down the next three batters to give Winona State the 8-7 victory in the nightcap.
Harer led WSU in the second game with three hits, giving him five on the day, to go with his three RBIs in game two. Funke and Wall each tallied two RBIs in the win with Hietpas drawing four walks during game two.
Nathan Vela got the start in game two, going 3.1 innings allowing three earned runs on five hits and four walks while striking out four batters.
Brayden Deering received the ball next, pitching 1.1 innings allowing four earned runs. Johnson (1-0) shut the door on the Beavers to earn the win in his 4.1 innings of shutout baseball. He only allowed one hit and struck out six batters in the dominating performance.
The Warriors (3-2, 1-1 NSIC) finish off the four-game series against the Beavers (4-5, 3-2 NSIC) on Saturday, February 28 with first pitch scheduled for 10:00am. The second game of the doubleheader will not count toward NSIC standings.
