Alyssa Griffith/Winonan
The Winona State University softball team followed a handful of canceled games with a couple of victories against the Northern State Wolves on April 15 in Winona.
The sweep gave the Warriors their seventh and eighth consecutive wins.
In the opening game, Winona State struck right away. With two on base, Britt Stewart singled, putting the Warriors on the board in the first. Shortstop Jessica Kullmann followed, walking with bases loaded, adding another run to the Warriors’ lead.
The Wolves plated a run in the bottom of the inning, but the Warriors responded with six runs in the second to take a commanding 8-1 advantage.
Stewart brought two across the plate with a single, and Kullmann knocked one out of the park for a grand slam, giving her five RBIs. This was the third grand slam of the season for Winona State.
Stewart added additional insurance in the fourth with a solo home run to bring the lead to 9-1. Northern State would come as close as three runs, with the final score of 9-6.
Ending the game 3-for-4 with four RBI, Stewart also picked up the win. Her record is now 8-5 on the mound, after allowing five earned runs against Northern State.
Winona State wasted no time getting on the board right away in the second game of the day, scoring one run in the first, off of a Morgan Lintz single.
Kullmann hit her second home run of the day in the second inning for a 2-0 advantage.
In the fourth inning, Kullmann scored a run off of a Brooke Piotrowski sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead. The Warriors added two more in the fifth off of a bases-loaded single by outfielder Natalie Kalmes.
The sixth inning proved to be a big one as the Warriors brought eight more across the plate, with seven different players credited an RBI hit. Kalmes hit another single for two runs, while Warriors Jenny Nelson, Kullmann,
Kaitlin Hardie, Mackenzie Williams and Lintz joined in with run-scoring hits of their own in the 13-0 victory.
Of Winona State’s 18 hits in the second game, Reed Karsten, Lintz and Kullmann were each credited with three.
After the two wins, the Warriors are 24-6 overall, and 9-1 in NSIC play.
Warriors catcher Lauren Flannery said the weather has caused a setback to the team’s schedule with the amount of canceled games, but that it gets the team even more exctied for every opportunity to play.
“Even though we all can’t feel our hands and toes in the cold, you can feel the energy and excitement in the dugout because we are all so pumped to play outside,” Flannery said.
The Warriors host Minnesota State for a doubleheader at Alumni Field on Tuesday, April 16. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Contact Alyssa at [email protected].
