MAUSTON, Wisconsin – The Winona State University baseball team lost their NSIC opening game to the University of Minnesota Duluth 6-2 in a game played at the Woodside Sports Complex in Mauston, Wisconsin.
The Bulldogs capitalized on a great eighth inning and scored three goals to break up what was a 3-2 ball game up to that point.
UMD scored the first two runs of the game, hitting a run each at the top of the first and fourth innings to take a 2-0 lead, but Winona State responded with a score at the bottom of the fourth inning for the Bulldog lead to halve.
The two teams traded runs in the sixth and seventh innings, resulting in the 3-2 score that progressed into the eighth. Unfortunately for WSU, the Bulldogs’ three-run breakout in the eighth inning would be the last run to cross the plate in the game and sent the Warriors to a 6-2 loss.
Derek Baumgartner led the Winona State offense, hitting two doubles on the plate in a 2-on-5 day. Steele Beatty and Joshua Hawksford each added two hits for WSU; As a team, the Warriors racked up nine hits and three walks.
On the mound, Bailey Banaszynski got the start for the Warriors and went four full innings, notching three strike outs. Banaszynski conceded two runs from two hits, one of which was earned. Nevin Wall came on relieved and threw 3 & 2/3 before knocking out eighth place John Breske for the final. Davis Zeutzius threw the last inning, went one and didn’t allow any hits.
Brayden Buttweiler earned the win for the Bulldogs by fielding six innings and allowing a six-hit run while fanning out eight batters. Sam Tanner led UMD at the plate, going 2-3 and driving over the right field fence in three runs, including a solo home run.
The Warriors and Bulldogs will face off tomorrow, March 20, in Mauston, Wisconsin. First place for the first game is scheduled at 1 p.m., with the second game following. Both competitions will be held at the Woodside Sports Complex.
For the latest news in Warrior Athletics please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:
As an integral part of the institution’s educational mission, the Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is committed to providing our student-athletes with opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence in two simple words: Graduated masters.
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Winona State University competes in women’s gymnastics as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
