ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The No. 20 Winona State softball team opened conference play with a pair of victories over St. Cloud State Friday afternoon in St. Cloud. The Warriors won the opener 7-2 before getting a shutout from Hanna Lythberg to claim the nightcap 6-0.

The Warriors plated their first two runs of the opener in the second inning, with Jenny Nelson leading off the frame with a triple and Morgan Lintz being hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners with no outs. Nelson was able to cross the plate thanks to an error by the Huskies, while Lintz scored on a RBI groundout by Allyson O'Herron.

WSU added three more runs in the third, with Brooke Piotrowski walking and Reed Karsten adding a single to once again put runners on base. Ashley Walker drove home Piotrowski and Mary Turitto added a two-run single later in the frame to increase the Warrior lead to 5-0.

St. Cloud State was able to push two runs across the plate in the bottom of the third but the Warriors got them right back, with Karsten tripling to score Lexi Perez in the fourth and Lintz bringing home Walker in the sixth to move the game to its 7-2 final.

Perez led the Warrior offense with hits in three of her four at bats while Karsten added a pair of hits of her own.

Walker moved her record to 6-2 on the season, allowing just a pair of runs and five hits while striking out two.

Walker got the Warriors on the board in the third inning of game two, getting on base thanks to a single, stealing second and coming around to score on a passed ball.

Winona State broke the game open in the fourth, scoring five runs to move its lead to 6-0. Turitto led off the frame with a walk and scored on a RBI double by Jessica Kullmann. Two more walks loaded the bases for the Warriors, with Karsten driving in one with a single. Walker brought home another run with a RBI fielder's choice to make the score 4-0 and Lintz capped off the scoring with a two-run single of her own.

Perez went 2-of-3 at the plate in game two, finishing her day with hits in five of her seven at bats. Kullmann and Karsten each had two hits in the game, with Karsten ending the doubleheader with four hits.

Lythberg was in command throughout the game, scattering four hits while posting her third shutout of the season. The sophomore tied her season-best with six strikeouts while moving her record to 9-1 in the circle.

Winona State (19-3 overall, 2-0 NSIC) will play its first home games of the season on Tuesday when it hosts Augustana.