Allison Mueller/Winonan

The Winona State University baseball team returned from Florida with a tan and two wins after playing six games over spring break.

The Warriors started off their trip with a 7-3 win over Lynn University.

Winona State scored first after a double from Jonathan Nelson in the second inning.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lynn University managed to score and tie the game.

It didn’t last long, for the Warriors scored six in the top of the fifth inning. Nelson contributed to three of these runs by hitting a home run.

In the eighth inning Lynn University attempted a comeback by scoring two runs, but Winona State came out on top 7-3.

In game two the Warriors faced Lynn University again, but this time were defeated 11-4.

Lynn University scored in the bottom of the first and again in the second inning, putting them up 2-0 going into the third inning.

Winona State came back with four runs in the top of the third after an RBI single by Michael Hommes that scored Nathan Krause, followed by a three-run home run by Tyler Nehring. This gave the Warriors a 4-2 lead.

Lynn University tied the game in the bottom of the fourth and continued to score seven runs in the sixth inning, defeating the Warriors 11-4.

Pitcher Will Lundquist and coach Kyle Poock said the difference between the first and second game against Lynn University came down to the willingness to win.

“We were ready to play right off the bat. We were excited to be in Florida and take it to them, but the second game they came at us with revenge,” Lundquist said.

Poock said, “Lynn University is the thirteenth-ranked team in the country, and I think they looked at the second game as ‘hey, we can’t let these guys beat us again.’”

Nehring said the Warriors played well in both games, but in the second game they “gave up a big inning and eased up offensively.”

The following day Winona State played Grand Valley State for their third game and fell 7-3.

Hommes scored first for the Warriors in the top of the first, followed by Nehring after an RBI single by Brett Young.

Winona State lost their 2-0 lead after four runs in the third inning from Grand Valley State, but the Warriors answered in the top of the fourth after Lucas Crimmins scored Travis Evanson.

With the Warriors trailing by one, Grand Valley State extended its lead by scoring three last runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, defeating Winona State 7-3.

In game four, Florida Southern defeated the Warriors 7-4.

Florida Southern scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Winona State answered in the fourth inning when Mike Wasilik scored off Evanson’s two-out RBI single.

After a sacrifice bunt by Michael Hommes in the fifith inning, Lucas Warren scored on a throwing error. Hommes and Andrew Geislinger followed and scored after Wasilik hit a single up the middle.

With the Warriors leading 4-1, Florida Southern scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth and brought the score within one.

Florida Southern took over the lead in the bottom of the eighth after a three-run home run, ending the game in a final score of 7-4.

Winona State faced Ohio Dominican in their fifth game and lost 6-4.

Ohio Dominican took a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run double, but in the top of the third, the Warriors scored after Nehring hit an RBI single and allowed Hommes to score.

In the top of the fourth inning, Evanson and Nathan Krause hit back-to-back singles. Evanson eventually scored, followed by Krause, after an RBI single by Joseph Kubera, giving the Warriors the lead 3-2.

Winona State held this lead into the bottom of the seventh inning, when Ohio Dominican scored three runs.

Krause led off the eighth inning with a run, but Ohio Dominican answered with a run to end the game in a win over Winona State 6-4.

The Warriors concluded their Florida trip with a win over Tiffin 4-2. Kubera scored Jordan Plamann in the second inning, and Tiffin answered quickly with a run.

The score was tied 1-1 until the bottom of the sixth when Winona State scored two runs. Tiffin then came back with a run followed by an RBI single from Young which gave the Warriors the final run of the game and the win 4-2.

Although the Warriors didn’t come back with a winning record, the team was happy with the way they played and how the games went.

Nehring said, “Our focus was good throughout the games. We were all there and working hard every game.”

Poock said many of the things the Warriors have worked on showed in the games.

“We played really good defense, didn’t

have a whole lot of errors, and pitched pretty well,” Poock said.

Lundquist said, “It showed that we can play with the best teams in the nation, we just need to work on closing out games.”

Poock said the Warriors played well against highly ranked teams overall.

“We played against some very good competition,” Kyle Poock said. “What hurt us was that every losing game we had one inning where we didn’t make the right pitch or play. We haven’t been outside in a game situation enough to execute some of those things.”

The baseball team has finally started having practice outside, even though it is on the football field rather than their baseball field, after being stuck in the gym for the past few months.

As the ground thaws and the warm weather returns, the Warriors will be able to heat things up on the field in practice and in games.