Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MARSHALL, Minn. – WSU baseball earned a pair of wins over the SMSU Mustangs behind strong two-out hitting all day.

The Warriors held on to a 4-3 win in game one behind clutch two-out hitting and a strong start on the bump by Nathan Vela. Game two was a back-and-forth thriller, WSU was able to prevail after a massive five-run ninth inning to secure a 12-7 win in the nightcap.

Game One: WSU (4) – SMSU (3)
Jack Funke gave Winona State a 1-0 lead after scoring on a wild pitch in the second inning. A two-out, two-RBI double by Adam Wall extended the Warriors advantage to 3-0 in the top of the third.

The Mustangs grabbed two runs in the bottom of the third after a home run and an error, making it 3-2 after three frames. Josh Hatano made it 4-2 WSU after an RBI double, plating Easton Arendt.

SMSU chipped at their deficit with a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 4-3. Winona State closed the door in the bottom of the seventh to earn a narrow 4-3 win in game one.

Dylan Harer led the WSU bats with two hits while Wall added two RBIs on his double. Vela (2-3) gained the win, tossing 5.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits. Boyd Skelley picked up his second save of the year, throwing 1.1 scoreless frames to end the game.

Game Two: WSU (12) – SMSU (7)
The Warriors jumped out to an early lead in the third inning, after a Payton Kohnle single plated Ethan Patterson. Hatano later scored on an error ending the third inning 2-0 Winona State. Wall made it 3-0 after he scored on a wild pitch in the fourth inning.

SMSU battled back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to knot the game 3-3. A Harer long ball regained the Warriors lead at 4-3 in the fifth. The Mustangs stormed right back after a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth, tying the contest up again at 4-4.

In the top of the sixth, Arendt crossed home plate on a Southwest Minnesota State error, giving the edge back to the Warriors at 5-4.  

Arendt hit an RBI single to score Wall in the eighth inning, making it 6-4. Arendt came around to score on a Patterson single, extending the Warriors advantage to 7-4. The bottom of the eighth saw the Mustangs tie the game again at 7-7 after a big three-run inning.

In the top of the ninth, Hunter Guenther led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, WSU retook the lead back at 8-7, after a Wall RBI single scored Guenther. Arendt continued his strong game at the plate with an RBI single, scoring Wall, growing the WSU edge to 9-7. Max Pederson came up huge with a two-run homer, extending the lead to 11-7. A couple of batters later, Hatano plated Patterson on a RBI single, ending the five-run inning 12-7 WSU.

WSU closed out the Mustangs in the bottom of the ninth, holding on to a 12-7 win in the wild second game of the day. Winona State smashed 15 hits in the win with eight different players recording a hit.

Pederson and Wall each recorded three hits to guide the WSU offense. Arendt and Wall each scored three runs in game two.

Six Warriors pitched in the contest. Peyton Lee tossed a scoreless first inning while Eli Babler went 2.0 scoreless innings. Wesley Johnson, Logan LaPlante, and Carson Jones all saw action on the hill. Max Strecker (3-1) battled to earn the win. Strecker pitched the final two innings, allowing zero runs on one hit while striking out two batters.

Winona State (17-19, 12-11 NSIC) returns home for a three-game series against the Wayne State Wildcats. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1:30pm on Saturday, April 18 with Sunday's single game starting at 12:00pm.