Tournament Website
SIOUX FALLS, SD – Entering Saturday the Winona State softball team needed four victories to bring a NSIC Tournament title home to Winona. The No. 18 Warriors picked up all four victories they needed, winning the fifth NSIC Tournament championship in program history with a 3-1 triumph over No. 25 Augustana Saturday in the postseason tournament's title game.
Winona State opened the day with wins over U-Mary (13-5), No. 5 Minnesota State (8-7) and Augustana (5-0) before completing its title run with a second victory over the Vikings. The win moves the Warriors to 46-7 overall on the season, the second-most victories in a season in program history.
Four Warriors claimed All-NSIC Tournament honors, with
Ashley Walker,
Morgan Lintz,
Jenny Nelson and
Reed Karsten being honored for their play during the team's championship run.
2014 NSIC All-Tournament Team
|
Name |
Pos |
School |
|
Ashley Walker |
P |
Winona State |
|
Coley Ries |
P |
Minnesota State |
|
Jenelle Trautmann |
P |
Augustana |
|
Lindsay Erickson |
C |
Minnesota State |
|
Morgan Lintz |
1B |
Winona State |
|
Jenny Nelson |
2B |
Winona State |
|
Caitlin Nichol |
3B |
Augustana |
|
Sarah Kennedy |
SS |
Augustana |
|
Reed Karstens |
OF |
Winona State |
|
Anna Cole |
OF |
Minnesota State |
|
Kaiti Williams |
OF |
Wayne State |
Nelson continued her outstanding tournament at the plate in the championship game, hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to stake the Warriors to a 2-0 lead. Walker drew a walk with two outs in the inning to set up Nelson's third home run in as many games Saturday.
Nelson now has 70 RBI on the season, the first Warrior hitter to reach that mark. She climbed back atop the WSU single-season RBI charts and currently holds a 70-69 lead over Lintz.
Augustana put a run on the board in the top of the fifth but the Warriors responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning to move its lead to 3-1.
Shannon Nelson walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt to get into scoring position. Walker followed with a single to left field to send the runner home and provide an insurance run.
Hanna Lythberg was outstanding in the circle once again for the Warriors, giving up just a single run on four hits while moving her record to 22-3 on the season. Lythberg struck out eight to help bring the championship trophy back to Winona.
The win also punches WSU's ticket into the NCAA Regional Tournament, with the team receiving an automatic bid thanks to the conference tournament championship. Winona State will be making its eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and tenth in the last 12 years.