Spencer Ellingson / Winonan

Venturing to Missouri, the Winona State University men’s baseball team won its first matchup before dropping the next three at the Maryville Classic in St. Louis.

The Warriors began the weekend with a 5-0 victory over Maryville University on Friday afternoon.

Sophomore outfielder Joe Kubera led the way for Winona State, going 4-for-5 at bat while junior infielder Jesus Cazares and junior outfielder Michael Hommes each brought in a pair of runs.

Cazares said the win was a result of the team’s play throughout the game.

“The team in general played the best in the first game,” Cazares said. “And that’s why we got the win.”

In the first inning against Maryville, senior infielder Tyler Nehring reached home on a single by Cazares to give the Warriors the first run of the game, and Winona State would not look back.

Warrior head coach Kyle Poock said the offense stepped up throughout the game.

“We got some clutch hits at key times and that was the difference in this game,” Poock said.

Poock said the pitching effort was strong this weekend.

“All four starting pitchers did a great job,” Poock said. “They all pitched well enough to win.”

Sophomore pitcher Mitchell Stalsberg pitched six shutout innings, giving up two runs and striking out eight of the 18 batters he faced.

The Warriors followed Friday’s win with a pair of losses Saturday, falling to Drury University 3-0 and to Grand Valley State University 8-4.

Sophomore Josh Nielsen said the pitching staff continued to play well, despite the lack of runs.

“The pitchers, Daniel Karlin-Kamin and Jay Voter, all pitched very well on Saturday,” Nielsen said.

Voter, a senior, allowed only six hits and one walk in six innings.

Down 8-0 against Grand Valley State, the Warriors cut the deficit 8-4 in the ninth inning but were unable to complete the comeback.

Junior pitcher Karlin-Kamin allowed seven hits on 27 faced batters in seven innings.

Coach Poock expressed his discontent with the loss.

“Yeah, Grand Valley is one of the best in their league,” Poock said. “But we thought we would at least go 2-2 in the weekend, it was disappointing.”

The final game of the weekend saw Winona State fall to Drury 6-4 Sunday in St. Charles, Mo.

Winona State got the scoring started in the first inning by scoring on an error before Drury claimed the lead 4-1 on a two-run triple.

The Warriors pulled to within one, 4-3, in the top of the eighth before Drury added a pair of run in the bottom half of the frame. Winona State scored another run in the top of the ninth, but Drury held on for the victory.

Winona State left ten baserunners on and struck out eight times.

Winona State heads to Florida for a six-game stretch starting with a matchup against Seton Hill University (Pa.) at 8 a.m.