Sam Thiel/Winonan
Britt Stewart and Ashley Walker each tossed shutout wins as the Winona State University softball team posted a couple of 1-0 victories against the University of Mary in its home opener Saturday, April 6, in Winona.
Stewart only allowed a pair of hits on the hill for Winona State in the opener while Walker gave up five hits in the finale. The Warriors have now posted shutout wins in its last three games.
With the sweep, the Warriors are now 20-6 overall and 5-1 in NSIC play.
Stewart gave up her first hit in the fourth and only allowed one additional single in the fifth inning. The senior got out of jams in the first and second, with the Marauders leaving a couple of base runners in both innings after they drew a walk.
Winona State scored what would be the only run of the game in the first, with Morgan Lintz bringing in Reed Karsten on a single. The Warriors recorded seven hits on the game, with Karsten and Walker each getting two.
Winona State was the first team to score in the game, which was in the fourth of the second game with Lintz getting on base on an error and pinch runner Natalie Kalmes reaching third on a Stewart single. Jenny Nelson plated Kalmes on a RBI groundout, giving the Warriors its only run to preserve the victory.
Walker struck out eight Marauders in the victory, a career-high as she improved to 9-0 on the season. Her shutout victory is her second one of the week after controlling Augustana 6-0 Tuesday in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Stewart tossed her second shutout in a row and Walker had another impressive outing on the hill as Winona State swept Minot State Saturday, April 6, in a NSIC doubleheader in Winona.
Stewart silenced the Beavers bats in the first game as Winona State took a 4-0 win. Walker was strong throughout the nightcap, going six innings as the Warriors were able to post the 4-2 victory.
“I couldn’t have been more excited about our pitching,” said coach Greg Jones.
Minot State broke a 34 inning scoreless streak by the Warrior pitching staff with two runs in the top of the seventh in game two. The last run that Winona State gave up before that was in the final frame of a 6-4 victory in the first game of their doubleheader against Augustana on April 2.
“Pitching-wise we spend a lot of time on it and as time goes we’re getting better. We’re getting stronger; we’re getting more movement, but what I think they’re doing really well is they’re not trying to do everything on their own,” Jones said. “They’re trying to pitch to contact; they’re making good pitches, making the ball move and letting our defense play.”
The Warriors recorded the first run of the first game in the bottom of the first inning. Walker got on base thanks to an error by the Minot State catcher and then stole second to get into scoring position. Morgan Lintz followed that up with a base hit to score Walker.
The Warriors got another run in the fifth, with Lintz getting her second RBI base hit of the game to plate Brooke Piotrowski. Winona State recorded a couple of runs in the sixth with Jessica Kullmann ripping a two-run homer over the centerfield fence.
Stewart only allowed three hits on the mound as well as striking out four. With the win, Stewart moved to 7-5 on the season. She has now tossed 14 innings in a row without giving up a run after also shutting out Mary 1-0 Saturday.
The Warriors finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning of the finale, with Kaitlin Hardie plating two on a bases-loaded single. Winona State recorded two more runs in the fifth with Lintz plating a run on a sacrifice fly and Stewart hitting a RBI single to give the Warriors a 4-0 lead.
The Beavers fought back in the seventh, getting two runs and filling the basepaths before Michelle Lund burst their bubble to seal the victory. Lund struck out a batter and got two more to fly out to finish the game.
Winona State University is now 22-6 overall on the season and 7-1 in conference play. They will hit the field on Wednesday, April 10, when they take on Concordia-St. Paul.
Contact Sam at [email protected].
