By Erin Cochran

The Warriors traveled home for the weekend after an away game at Concordia-St. Paul and responded with a strong offense against the University of Mary.

Away, the Warriors split the victories with the Golden Bears winning game one 6-5 and losing game two 12-9. The Golden Bears started off game one with a solo home run but Seth McMullen singled and scored on a wild pitch to earn the run back.

Concordia took a 4-1 lead in the third but the Warriors responded on offense. Mike Wasilik, Nate Van Roekel and McMullen all scored in the fourth and Van Roekel again in the sixth. The game was tied in the seventh by an Adam Gemuenden solo home run.

The Warriors got their first lead of the game in the top of the eighth as Van Roekel reached on an error and Cody Strang had a RBI single. Aaron Hoverson pitched for six innings, striking out four and giving five runs. Tyler Zemla pitched the seventh; earning the Winona State victory and Kodey Simon earned his first save of the season, striking out three in the eighth.

Game two at Concordia-St. Paul was back and forth the entire contest until eventually the Golden Bears solidified their victory on a grand slam. The Warriors had a quick 2-0 lead due to a Strang two-run homer. The Golden Bears responded with four runs in the second to give them a 4-2 lead. Kyle Sill tied the game up in the top of the third with a two-run double.

After Concordia-St. Paul took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, Winona State brought it back to a tie in the fifth. The Golden Bears responded with a solo home run giving them a 6-5 advantage. Sill brought it back once again in the fifth with a solo home run of his own. Eventually, the Golden Bears’ grand slam gave them a 10-6 lead and after two more runs they took the game 12-9. Strang finished game two with four RBIs and two 3-for-4 with two home runs.

“It was a battle offensively and on defense because the Concordia Bears have some very good hitters on their team,” said Gemuenden.

Following up being named NSIC Player of The Week, Van Roekel was also named Central Region Player of The Week. Van Roekel went .500 during the Warriors last week’s six victories and had 15 RBIs.  He went 14-of-28 with three home runs.

The Warriors made their way back to Loughry Field for a doubleheader, two game series against the University of Mary. Winona State split Saturday’s games, losing 4-2 in game one and walking off with game two 13-6. In game one McMullen’s single allowed for two runs in the first inning. Three out of the five Warrior hits came from the first inning.

University of Mary scored once in the third, taking a 3-2 lead and the Marauders would take their 4-2 victory with a run in the fifth. Simon threw a complete game, striking out seven and allowing four runs and seven hits. The Warriors offense heated up quickly in game two. A sacrifice fly by Strang, allowed Derek Wojcik to score off his walk and stolen base. In the second, the Warriors scored four runs with RBI singles from Ryan Ledvina, Van Roekel and McMullen.  Wasilik also hit a sacrifice fly.

In the bottom of the eighth, with a lead of 9-5, the Warriors scored four more including a Wojcik and Van Roekel RBI singles and a two-run homer by Strang. The Warriors walked off with a 13-6 victory. Gemuenden and Sill each had three hits in the game two, Strang had three RBIs and Van Roekel ended the game 3-for-5. Warriors took both victories against the University of Mary on Sunday’s game but it wasn’t without a fight from the Marauders.

The Marauders scored against the Warriors in game one in the top of the second but Winona State tied the game after Sill walked and scored on an error. Both teams defense was tight as it was a low scoring contest. In the third inning Van Roekel hit a double and scored on a University of Mary error.

Lucas Warren earned the Warrior 3-2 victory in the fifth, hitting a home run into right field. Brandon Verthein threw for six innings on the mound and struck out four.  Zach Rickaway closed the game in the seventh and threw a perfect inning. In Sunday’s second game the Warriors appeared to be setting up for a loss but bumped up their offense with a comeback in the sixth. The comeback began on a Sill RBI double, Wojcik landed a bases-loaded double in the seventh that added three for the Warriors.

The Marauders came within one in the eighth but couldn’t solidify their own comeback. Winona State took the nightcap game 5-4. Jamie Soyk threw for almost eight innings and struck out six.

“We feel like we are getting to that Regional Championship team mode again from a year ago,” said Gemuenden.  “Just a few more things need to click and we will be on that level again.”

Winona State is now 22-12 overall and 17-9 on NSIC play. The Warriors continue their home stay on Wednesday against Wayne State.