DULUTH, Minn. – WSU baseball bounced back with an eight-run ninth inning in game two, earning a split at Minnesota Duluth.
After a heartbreaking 3-2 walk-off loss in game one. Winona State's bats came alive to the tune of 17 runs with a massive eight-run ninth inning to earn a 17-12 victory in the nightcap.
Game One: UMD (3) – WSU (2)
The Warriors struck first with an RBI single from
Jack Funke, plating
Payton Kohnle, making it 1-0 WSU in the first frame. Winona State grew its lead to 2-0 after an
Adam Wall single scored
Dylan Harer in the third inning.
Minnesota Duluth entered the scoring column after a WSU error in the bottom of the third, making it 2-1. The game remained 2-1 until the bottom of the seventh, when after the Bulldogs loaded the bases with no outs, a walk-off two-RBI single gave UMD the 3-2 victory in game one.
Wall and Funke each had two hits and an RBI for the Warriors.
Nathan Vela (2-4) suffered the loss. Vela went 6.0 innings, allowing three unearned runs while scattering two hits with two strikeouts.
Game Two: WSU (17) – UMD (12)
UMD jumped out ahead 3-0 after two runs in the second and one in the third inning. Winona State grabbed two runs in the fourth to make it 3-2 after
Connor Weed scored on an error. Followed by an RBI single from
Connor Greuel, plating
Max Pederson. The Bulldogs extended their edge to 4-2 after a Warriors error in the bottom of the fourth.
A two-RBI single from Pederson knotted the game at 4-4 in the top of the fifth inning. Minnesota Duluth responded with a single run in the bottom of the fifth to retake the lead 5-4.
Adam Wall granted WSU its first advantage of the game after a two-RBI moonshot in the top of the sixth inning made it 6-5. Later in the frame, Pederson singled, plating
Dylan Harer, growing the WSU lead to 7-5.
UMD cut their deficit to 7-6 after a run in the bottom of the seventh. A third Pederson RBI single grew the Warriors edge to 8-6 in the eighth. Funke made it 9-6 after a fielder's choice in the same frame.
A five-spot from the Bulldogs highlighted by a bases clearing double made it 11-9 UMD heading to the ninth. With their backs to the wall, Winona State exploded for eight runs in the ninth. Pederson tallied his fifth hit of the game, scoring
Josh Hatano to make it 11-10. Funke,
Ethan Patterson, and Greuel all recorded consecutive RBI walks, giving WSU a 13-11 edge.
Cayden Mueller made it 14-11 after a hit-by-pitch. Hatano plated two more Warriors on a single with Harer ending the monster inning at 17-11 with an RBI single. UMD scored one in the ninth, ending the wild game 17-12.
Pederson was the hero in this one with five hits and five RBIs to carry the Warriors bats. Pederson put himself in the history books, tying a slew of WSU players for second place all-time with five hits in a game.
Ryland Wall holds the record with six hits set last year on March 17 against Macalester.
Harer reached base five times with three hits and two walks. Greuel and Wall each had two hits and two RBI while Hatano added two RBI.
Logan LaPlante (1-0) earned the win in the back-and-forth contest. LaPlante tossed the final 2.0 frames, allowing one earned run on two hits with two punchouts.
Winona State (23-23, 18-15 NSIC) enters its final regular season series with a home matchup against Northern State, starting on Friday, May 1. First pitch at Loughrey Field for Senior Day is slated for 1:30pm. Saturday's single game will start at 12:00pm for Alumni Day.
