Sam Thiel/ Winonan

The ground may be still covered in snow, but that doesn’t stop the Winona State University softball team from starting its season. After going 48-9 last year, its second-most victories ever, and clinching its eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the Warriors are looking to replicate their success on the diamond.

The Warriors opened the season facing University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Winona State kicked off its 2015 campaign with a 6-0 shutout victory in game one of a doubleheader at the RCTC Dome in Rochester Feb. 17.

Senior Ashley Walker tossed a four-hitter on the mound and drove in three runs. Walker went seven innings, allowing only four hits and struck out four.

Walker said, “As pitchers we just focused on taking it one pitch at a time and trusting our defense to make plays behind us, which they did a phenomenal job doing all weekend.”

The first four innings were scoreless, but Walker got the Warriors on the board first with a deep double to left center to bring in Lexi Perez and Reed Karsten. Jessica Kullmann would then connect on a home run that drove home a pair and give Winona State a 4-0 lead.

The Warriors tacked on a couple of insurance runs in the sixth thanks to a Walker double and Morgan Lintz flyout that scored Karsten and Walker to give Winona State a 6-0 lead. Walker came on in the seventh to ice the first win of the year for the Warriors.

Hanna Lythberg tossed a two-hitter as the Winona State softball team defeated Wisconsin-Parkside 7-1 in the finale of the doubleheader Tuesday at the RCTC Dome in Rochester.

The junior pitcher went seven innings while holding the Rangers to just two hits and one unearned run. Lythberg struck out 11 and walked just two on the night.

“As a pitcher the most comforting thing is knowing you have a strong defense behind you,” Lythberg said. “The defense played great behind me which allowed me to just go out there confidently and have faith that we could get the job done together.”

The Rangers struck first in the top of the third after a throwing error by Lythberg brought home Emily Hastings of Wisconsin-Parkside.

The lead would be brief, as Lintz chalked up a base hit down the right field line to bring home Lexi Perez to knot the game at one apiece. The Warriors would then take the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth when McKenna Larsen would cross home plate thanks to a wild pitch.

Winona State built on its lead in the fifth with four more runs, as Walker beat a fielding error to get Perez home. Lintz recorded her second RBI of the day to bring in Walker.

After a single by freshman Paige Keegan brought across Jessica Kullmann and Lintz, Winona State had created a 6-1 cushion before adding a final insurance run in the seventh to secure the 7-1 victory.

The quartet of Perez, Walker, Lintz and Natalie Kalmes recorded two hits apiece on the game for Winona State, who connected 11 times as a team.

“The offense coming out and producing later in the game and taking momentum allowed for me and the defense to confidently finish off the game by focusing on each pitch and each at bat separately,” Lythberg added. “It truly took every single one of us to win that battle against a nationally ranked team.”

After taking a pair of games in Rochester, the No. 25 Winona State University softball team headed to Rosemont, Ill. to partake in the Lew University Tournament.

The team walked away with two more victories Friday, defeating Saginaw Valley 10-1 in five innings and later beat No. 15 Wayne State (Mich.) 4-3 in 8 innings.

Ashley Walker continued her strong start, collecting four hits at bat to go with a couple of RBI’s. At the mound Walker went five innings, allowing six hits while fanning three and giving up a lone run.

Walker gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead in the first inning after plating Karsten.Lintz added an RBI single of her own in the third to bring home Walker for the 2-0 advantage. Allyson O’Herron also recorded an RBI, and Natalie Kalmes drove in a run on a walk to bring Winona State’s lead 4-0.

Winona State put the game away in the fifth with six more runs as the Warriors earned the 10-1 win.

The Warriors faced No. 15 Wayne State (Mich.) in the nightcap. Winona State got on the board first with a Walker RBI but Wayne State would even things up at one in the second inning.

The Warriors from Michigan would jump ahead with a couple of runs in the bottom half of the third to stake a 3-1 lead – an advantage it would maintain until the sixth inning when the Winona State answered and tied the game at three.

The game went into extras, as Winona State went first with Karsten beginning on second base with international tiebreaker rules in play. This set the stage for the game-winning single from Walker to put Winona State up 4-3, and Lythberg would snuff out Wayne State’s hopes in the bottom half of the frame to ice the victory.

Lythberg tossed eight innings while giving up just four hits and a trio of runs while fanning four.

“As we continue to move forward this season, we do need to find ways for our offense to improve,” Jones added. “We can’t completely rely on our pitchers to carry the load. We want to continue to be more aggressive both physically and mentally in our at-bats.”

The Warriors wrapped up the tournament  in Rosemont, Ill. on Saturday and Sunday with victories over Wisconsin-Parkside 6-3, University of Findlay 4-1 and Missouri S&T 6-5.

In the opener on Saturday, Walker went seven innings and allowing three runs while striking out two.

Lintz started the scoring off with a solo shot in the bottom of the second. After the Rangers tied and later took the lead 2-1 in the top half of the fourth, the Warriors answered with a four-run fifth inning.

Lintz singled home Karsten to tie the score at two before Kullman drove in Walker on an RBI single. Later in the frame, Lintz would find home plate once again as Tayler Oberman grounded out to second, giving Winona State a 4-2 lead. O’Herron capped off the offensive display with an RBI single that plated Kullmann for the 5-1 lead.

The Warriors struck again in the bottom of the sixth, as Lintz reached on a bobbled play by the shortstop, scoring  Perez in the process.

The Rangers got another run in the top half of the seventh before Walker picked  up her third victory of the season.

Five different Warriors had at least two hits on the game, with Lintz going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI’s.

The Warriors faced Findlay in the nightcap on Saturday. Lintz scored Karsten to give the Warriors a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

After going scoreless the next three innings, the Oilers knotted things up with an RBI single. The Warriors responded with three runs to bring the score to its final destination.

After Natalie Kalmes, Karsten and Perez all reached base, Walker sent them all around with a triple to deep right.

On the hill Lythberg picked up her third win, going seven innings while giving up one run and striking out five.

After playing four games in two nights, the Warriors wrapped up the Lewis University Tournament with a 6-5 victory over Missouri S&T Sunday morning.

The Warriors found themselves down early in the bottom half, but they responded with two runs as Karsten scored and Walker was plated, giving the Warriors a 2-1 lead.

Missouri would negate those two runs with a pair of their own in the top half of the second thanks to a two-run homer by C. Baker.

After the next three and a half innings went scoreless, the Warriors exploded for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to give them the lead 6-3.

Missouri S&T would cut the deficit down to one but Karly Olson would cement the seventh victory in a row and the fifth in three days for the Warriors.

Lintz went four innings on the mound before Olson came on to close. Lintz gave up three runs and six hits while striking out one while Olson gave up two runs, five hits and struck out two to pick up her first win of the season.

Winona State (7-0 overall) now heads back to Rochester to play a doubleheader against Grand View College on Thursday. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m.