Sam Thiel/ Winonan
A couple of home runs propelled the No. 19 Winona State University softball team to earn a doubleheader split with No. 13 Augustana, Wednesday in Winona. The Warriors fell in the opener 5-0 before posting a hard earned 6-5 win in the nightcap.
Jessica Kullmann and Natalie Kalmes both hit homers in the second game, pacing the Warriors to their third victory over a ranked team this season.
Winona State started scoring right away in game two, with Mary Turitto slapping a RBI single to score Ashley Walker in the bottom of the first. Kullmann chipped into the Warrior advantage in the second, starting it off with her first home run of the season to give Winona State a 2-0 lead.
The Warriors tacked on three more runs in the third to build a 5-2 advantage, thanks to Kalmes’ two-run shot.
Morgan Lintz began the frame with a double and Turitto hit a single to put a pair of runners on with no outs. Kullmann plated a runner on a groundout before Kalmes smashed her first homer of the season, this one over the right-center fence.
The Vikings climbed their way to within one, 5-4, with two runs in the fifth, but Winona State answered back with another run in the bottom half of the frame as Jenny Nelson brought in Kalmes with a sacrifice fly.
The insurance run by the Warriors would end up being the most important, as Augustana’s Caitlin Nichol began the top of the seventh with a solo shot, cutting Winona State’s lead to one, 6-5.
Warrior pitcher Hanna Lythberg hit the next Viking batter, but a double play extinguished the threat to give Winona State the victory.
Lythberg was victorious for the tenth time in 11 appearances this season, tossing a complete game while striking out two.
Reed Karsten was in the leadoff spot for Winona State in the second game, going 3-for-4 while Shannon Nelson, Lintz and Turitto added two hits apiece.
Augustana started off the scoring in game one, in the third inning, recording runs on a passed ball and an RBI base hit. The Vikings tallied a trio of runs in the sixth on a home run by Jordan Schaffer to get to the final 5-0 score.
The Warriors had some opportunities to get runs of their own, posting eight hits and three walks in the opener. Allyson O’Herron and Walker each netted a couple of hits while Karsten doubled to lead the way for Winona State on the offensive end.
Jenny Nelson smashed a pair of home runs, but Winona State dropped both games in a doubleheader match up against Minot State, falling 4-1 and 7-3 Saturday in Minot, N.D.
Nelson nailed homers in both games of the doubleheader to pace the Warriors offensively on the day.
A solo shot from Nelson’s bat gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning of the opener, her seventh homer of the season. Minot State would answer with four runs in the bottom half of the same inning to post all the runs it would need to run away with the win.
Winona State had only two hits in the first game, with Kullmann adding a single to Nelson’s homer.
Ashley Walker (6-4) matched her season-high with seven strikeouts on the hill for the Warriors.
The Warriors found themselves against the wall in the third inning of the nightcap, with Minot State plating three runs on a home run to claim the lead.
The Warriors got two runs in the fourth, with Morgan Lintz and Evie Schaller recording RBI singles in the inning. Karsten and Walker started things off with singles, placing runners in scoring position quickly for the Warriors. Lintz slapped a single to plate one runner and would come around to score a run of her own later in the inning on Schaller’s hit.
Minot State replaced those runs in the bottom of the frame, hitting a grand slam to improve its advantage to 7-2. Nelson would make contact and then score on her second home run of the day in the sixth, a solo shot to make the score 7-3.
Winona State posted eight hits in game two, with Brooke Piotrowski netting two in the leadoff position. The first seven players in the squad’s batting order recorded at least one hit during the afternoon.
Hanna Lythberg (10-2) suffered only her second loss of the season, but managed to strikeout her season-best of seven batters.
Winona State had an onslaught offensively, scoring 15 while attaining impressive pitching efforts from Walker and Lythberg to sweep the University of Mary in a NSIC doubleheader on Sunday in Minot, N.D.
Winona State took the opener 4-1 before exploding offensively in an 11-3 win in game two. The Warriors recorded their 15 runs on 18 hits while posting home runs from three different players in the doubleheader.
After allowing a run in the bottom half of the fourth during the first game, Winona State scored twice in the top of the fifth to create a lead they would never give up.
Shannon Nelson started things off with a single and would come around to score with two outs on a Walker double. Jenny Nelson followed up with a RBI single to put the team up 2-0.
The Warriors tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the seventh with Jenny Nelson getting a walk and Lintz belting a home run to left center to give Winona State a 4-1 advantage.
Winona State dealt out 11 hits in the game with Lintz going 3-for-4 at the plate, while Walker and Shannon Nelson added two hits apiece. Walker improved her record to 7-4 on the year on the mound giving up just one run on seven hits and striking out four.
The Warriors ran away with the game right away in the nightcap plating six runs in the top of the first while adding three more in the second and another in the third for a fast 10-0 lead.
Two singles and a U-Mary error in the first put runners on all bases for Winona State to score its first run of the contest after a pitch hit Jenny Nelson. Lintz then drew a walk to score another runner while a passed ball put the Warriors up 3-0. Kullmann capped the explosive inning off with a three-run shot to center that gave Winona State a 6-0 advantage.
The Warriors scored a trio of runs in the second with an RBI from Jenny Nelson and two additional runs thanks to a double by Lintz. Lintz ended her day with four hits in six appearances at the plate while bringing in five. Three of her four hits were for extra bases.
Karsten increased Winona State’s lead 10-0 in the third reaching on an error that scored Shannon Nelson.
U-Mary was able to get two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to cut the deficit to seven, but Turitto ended the game in the sixth with a solo shot over the center field fence.
Winona State recorded its 11 runs on only seven hits, drawing seven walks, while capitalizing on four Marauder errors. Shannon Nelson posted a couple of base hits in the nightcap and stole a base.
Lythberg (11-2) allowed three runs on eight hits while tying her season-best with seven strikeouts.
Winona State (22-6 overall, 5-3 NSIC) will hit the diamond at 2 p.m. on Wednesday when it heads to Concordia-St. Paul for a doubleheader.
