Kilat Fitzgerald / Winonan

After spending the last five weeks driving to different cities and staying in hotels, the Winona State University softball team returned to play two out of the three doubleheaders on its home field. The Warriors split the six-game swing, starting with Wayne State College last Tuesday in Winona.

Against the Wildcats, Winona State claimed the first game with a 6-2 victory followed by an 8-0 shutout in the nightcap.

In the opener, the Wildcats had the better start, with a long ball during the third inning breaking the scoreless tie on a solo home run.

In the bottom of the inning, the Warriors shot back with a two-run blast to left center from senior Reed Karsten followed by a solo homer to left by sophomore Paige Keegan which carried the Warriors in the lead 3-1.

The lead was extended by junior Allyson O’Herron in the fourth inning with an RBI sac bunt, but the Wildcats answered with an RBI groundout in the top of the fifth. The Warriors tacked on another run when sophomore McKenna Larsen’s RBI double put the score at 5-2.

The final run was in the sixth inning when Karsten made a single up the middle which led to a run following a stolen base attempt which resulted in throwing errors by the catcher and center fielder to make it 6-2.

Game two was uncontested after Winona State locked down eight runs while the Wildcats were left scoreless. Sophomore Alex Walker picked up her second straight shutout as the pitcher scattered five hits through six innings as she struck out one and allowed no runs.

The first run was made in the third inning when senior Natalie Kalmes singled home Karsten after a base hit to left field. Karsten then smacked a three-run home run to left center in the fourth inning to extend the lead 4-0. More runs were recorded by first-year Lani Van Zyl and O’Herron to clinch the final win at 8-0.

On Saturday, a five inning no-hitter game ended with the Warriors claiming a 10-0 victory followed by a tight loss against St. Cloud State University.

Senior Hanna Lythberg now holds Winona State’s 18th no-hitter in program history and the first in her career.

The rest of the team was ready to capitalize on Lythberg’s performance. Keegan scored O’Herron at the top of the third and an RBI groundout by Kalmes in the following at bat scored Karsten which brought Winona State to a 2-0 lead.

The Huskies could not recover, as three more runs in the fourth inning from senior Chelsey Rodenkirch’s RBI groundout and a two-run single by Keegan brought the lead 5-0.

The next few scores were made by sophomore Jamee Schlies scoring Larsen, then Karsten bringing in Schleis. Keegan reached base through a fielding error by the pitcher, scoring Van Zyl with an unearned run to bring the score 8-0 before Kalmes locked it in at 10-0 by scoring a two-run single to bring in Rodenkirch and Karsten.

In the nightcap, the Warriors met a loss with a score much tighter than the previous game held.

St. Cloud State managed to secure four runs against Winona State’s three to carry the win and split the doubleheader.

Walker allowed five hits, three earned runs and three walks with one strikeout within the six innings she played.

The Warriors had a rough day on Sunday when they fell to Duluth in another doubleheader that resulted in scores of 3-2 and 10-2 at Alumni Field in Winona.

Game one saw Karsten getting a home run and Keegan connecting on a home run also during the fourth inning, but the Bulldogs pulled ahead by the seventh inning to secure their win.

Game two was a more one-sided loss for the Warriors, as the early lead of 2-0 didn’t last long.

Towards the end of the fifth, an eight-run inning helped secure Duluth’s lead highlighted by six unearned runs and a grand slam to right field.

Winona State (24-10, 6-5 NSIC) heads to Concordia-St. Paul University on Wednesday at 2 p.m.