WINONA, Minn. – The Warriors baseball team won 7-6 in 10 innings in game one and fell 12-11 in the non-conference matchup with the Marauders in game two on Sunday.
The Warriors led 6-0 through four innings in game one, but the University of Mary battled back to tie it up at 6-6 heading to extras. An error by the Marauders catcher in the bottom of the tenth gave WSU a 7-6 victory.
Winona State battled back from a 7-0 hole in game two, cutting it to a 7-6 Marauders lead through three innings. WSU scored one run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 12-11 UMary, but the Warriors stranded runners on second and third to end the game in favor of the Marauders.
Game One: WSU (7) – UMary (6)
WSU struck first after a
Garrett Hietpas sacrifice fly scored
Ethan Patterson to make it 1-0 after two innings. In the bottom of the third, pitcher
Hunter Guenther helped himself out with a no-doubt solo shot to make it 2-0. Two pitches later,
Boone Kirst drilled a home run to left field, extending the Warriors lead to 3-0. A two-RBI double from
Max Pederson made it 5-0 after three innings.
The Warriors added to their edge after
Christian Varsho singled in the fourth, scoring
Connor Weed, making it 6-0. The Marauders brought the game to 6-3 with a run in the fifth and two in the seventh.
UMary chipped at the Warriors lead even more with a run in the eighth, cutting the game to 6-4 heading to the ninth. The Marauders tied the game 6-6 after a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth. Winona State had two players reach base in the bottom of the ninth, but were unable to walk it off, as the game headed to extras.
Max Strecker tossed a scoreless tenth frame for the Warriors. After back-to-back one out singles by
Josh Hatano and Pederson, Hietpas hit a single of his own, but Hatano was thrown out at home after a rundown. With runners on second and third with two outs, an errant throw by the Marauders catcher scored Pederson to end the game 7-6 WSU.
Pederson led Winona State with three hits and two RBI in the game while Hatano and Hietpas added two hits apiece.
Guenther got the start on the mound and batted second in the Warriors lineup. His first hit of the season came on his long ball in the third inning. In addition, he pitched a stellar 6.0 innings allowing one earned run and four hits. He struck out five hitters and walked four.
Peyton Lee went 1.2 frames, giving up three earned runs with
Boyd Skelley tossing 1.0 innings. Strecker (1-0) earned the win for the Warriors, pitching 1.1 innings of scoreless baseball to finish off the WSU win.
Game Two: UMary (12) – WSU (11)
The University of Mary jumped out to a 7-0 advantage after a three-spot in the second and four runs in the third. Winona State responded in a big way with six runs in the bottom of the third after
Adam Wall scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-1. Back-to-back RBI doubles by
Jack Funke and
Dylan Harer, cut the deficit to 7-3. The game went to 7-4 after
Cayden Mueller battled for an RBI walk.
Landon Zeuli recorded a sacrifice fly, scoring
Connor Greuel, making it 7-5. The scoring barrage ended with a
Spencer Klein steal of home, cutting the Warriors gap to 7-6.
Three runs from UMary in the top of the fourth, expanded their lead to 10-6. Guenther powered his second home run of the day in the fifth inning, bringing the Warriors within two runs at 10-8. After two more runs from the Marauders in the top of the sixth, Klein tallied an RBI groundout with Greuel scoring a few batters later on an error, ending the sixth frame 12-10.
The Marauders went three-up, three-down in the seventh, giving Winona State a chance in the bottom half of the inning. After two walks and a hit-by-pitch, WSU loaded the bases with two outs. They cut the deficit to one run after a wild pitch scored
Maddux Poock. The Warriors struck out with two on base to end the wild game 12-11 UMary.
Guenther and Harer each had two hits for the squad in game two while Greuel and Wall scored two runs apiece in the loss.
Easton Arendt (0-2) suffered the loss for WSU. He pitched 2.0 innings, giving up three earned runs while adding four punchouts.
Tanner Peterson,
Collin Elmore,
Logan LaPlante,
Brayden Deering, and
Cayden Mueller all saw time on the bump for WSU. Mueller gave the Warriors an opportunity to battle back in the final frames as he threw 1.2 scoreless innings.
The Warriors kick off a busy week of baseball with a doubleheader at Concordia-St. Paul on Tuesday, March 31. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00pm in St. Paul, Minn.
