WAVERLY, Iowa – The Winona State baseball team picked up a pair of one-run wins over the Bemidji State Beavers, including a walk-off single by
Ethan Patterson in the nightcap.
The Warriors grabbed a 4-3 victory in game one behind a three-run blast from
Jack Funke. Game two saw Patterson hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning, scoring
Adam Wall to walk-off the Beavers 5-4.
Game One: WSU (4) – BSU (3)
Bemidji State grabbed a 2-0 advantage after scoring runs in the first and second innings. In the bottom of the fourth, with one out and runners on first and second, Funke hammered a three-run home run to put WSU up 3-2 after four.
Winona State added a run in the bottom of the fifth after a
Dylan Harer sacrifice fly scored
Garrett Hietpas, making it 4-2 Warriors.
Sawyer Hoffman escaped the sixth inning with no harm after a pair of Beavers reached base in the frame. Bemidji State cut the deficit to 4-3 in the final frame, after an error, but
Peyton Lee shut the door, earning the save in the tight 4-3 win.
Funke's three-run home run was the deciding factor in the contest, with Hietpas adding two hits and a run for WSU. Hoffman (2-1) earned the win on the mound for the Warriors. He went 6.0 innings, allowing eight hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out three batters. Lee earned his first save of the 2026 season after he pitched a scoreless seventh frame, allowing no hits and a walk.
Game Two: WSU (5) – BSU (4)
After a Bemidji State single in the top of the first, a WSU double play stopped the Beavers in their tracks. The contest remained knotted at 0-0 until Winona State put up a four-spot in the bottom of the third behind a
Max Strecker double that scored
Connor Greuel. A few batters later, Wall blasted a three-run bomb to give WSU a 4-0 lead.
BSU got one back in the top of the fifth after a solo shot, making it 4-1. In the top of the seventh, the Beavers tightened the Warriors' advantage to 4-3 after a two-run double. Bemidji State crossed home in the top of the eighth to tie the contest 4-4. Both teams went three-up, three-down in the ninth as the game headed to extras.
Eli Babler gave up a leadoff single in the top of the 10th, but the runner was later caught stealing leaving the Beavers scoreless in the 10th. Wall kicked off the bottom of the 10th with a single. After a groundout moved him to second, Wall advanced to third on a wild pitch with one out. Patterson later singled to left field, completing the doubleheader sweep of the Beavers with a 5-4 win in the nightcap.
Strecker, Patterson, and Wall each had multi-hit games in the win with Wall powering the batting order with his three-run home run.
Hunter Guenther got the nod in game two, pitching 7.2 quality innings allowing seven hits and four earned runs. He recorded seven strikeouts and walked one batter.
Boyd Skelley closed out the eighth inning, pitching 0.1 frames. Babler (2-0) earned the win, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with three punchouts.
The Warriors look to earn the series win tomorrow, March 22, in the final two games of the four-game series with Bemidji State. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00pm in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
