Loading ...By Alyssa Griffith
The Warriors split a doubleheader with Wayne State on Wednesday with a 2-0 loss in game one, and a 5-1 game two win. The games were the last of the road games in the regular season.
Wayne State scored two runs off of a two-run home run in the third inning of game one—the only runs of the game. Kathy Crudo and Melissa Reyes were the only Warriors with a hit in the game. Stacey Struzynski gave up four hits, and had seven strikeouts.
The Warriors scored early in game two, when Molly Link doubled in the first and scored off of a RBI single by Britt Stewart. The Wildcats tied the game after loading the bases in the second inning, but were only able to get one run in.
“The takeaway is that we were mentally strong enough to handle it. We never got blown out in any of those games,” Jones said. “It came down to sometimes we just didn’t do quite enough to win. The ultimate test of mental toughness is decided on how you do in one run games and how you do in playing from behind and those are some things we didn’t quite get over the hump on. “
Winona State swept Bemidji State on Senior Day at Alumni Field on Saturday. Warrior pitching gave up only two hits on the day, and neither of the two lone BSU base runners made it past second base in the doubleheader. Struzynski allowed only one hit in game one, with 14 strikeouts. Her command was right on point, as she recorded seven consecutive strikeouts, shutting down BSU’s offense early. Brooke Piotrowski started the offense in the third with a leadoff double, while Molly Link followed with a home run to bring two runs in. Sam Hildebrandt hit a solo home run in the fourth to solidify the Warriors’ 3-0 lead, which they took all the way to the end.
The seniors continued their impressive play in game two with another 3-0 win. Kim Wachholder came in with bases loaded and took a ball into the gap in right center for a bases clearing double. Kelsey Anderson’s one-hit shutout moved her record to 7-1 and she struck out five. Winona State’s regular season came to an end on Sunday with a split against Duluth at Alumni Field. Struzynski recorded her 37th career shutout in the game one win, which sets the Winona State record for career shutouts. It was her seventh shutout of the season, while she held UMD to four hits and struck out 11. Wachholder hit a two run home run in the third—the only runs of the game, leading Winona State to the 2-0 win. This was Wachholder’s 14th home run of the season, putting her in second place on Winona State’s season home run charts.
Duluth scored in the third inning of game two. They scored one more for a 2-0 lead in the sixth. Morgan Lintz led off the sixth by reaching base on a fielding error, and recorded a run on back-to-back RBI doubles by Crudo and Sam Hildebrandt. The Bulldogs scored two runs in the seventh for a 4-2 lead, and eventual victory. The Warriors are now 39-8 overall and 19-5 in conference play and are the third seed in the NSIC Tournament, which begins Thursday in Rochester, Minn.
The tournament schedules and first round matchups will be posted early this week.
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