WINONA, Minn. – The senior trio of Jessica Kullmann, Morgan Lintz and Ashley Walker each have left lasting marks on the Winona State softball program. So naturally, the three each made impacts on Senior Day as the No. 17 Warriors rolled to an 8-1, 11-1 doubleheader sweep of Sioux Falls on a beautiful Sunday at Alumni Field.
Playing in what will likely be their last home games of their Warrior careers, the three made sure they went out with a bang.
Walker (20-4) put together a fantastic performance in the circle in game one, throwing yet another seven-inning complete game while scattering just five hits and allowing only one earned run while striking out five Cougar batters. The win marks the third straight season that Walker has reached the 20-win mark. At the plate, Walker was sharp, putting the Warriors on the board in game one with an RBI double – her single season school-record setting 23rd double of the season.
Kullmann – who is currently seventh all-time in the Winona State home run charts with 25 – crushed two of those Sunday in a four-RBI game two.
Lintz, meanwhile, moved into a tie for seventh-all time in WSU history in career doubles with a two-bagger to right center in her final at-bat.
While the seniors were the story, the Warriors got production up and down the lineup throughout the day, compiling 23 hits on the afternoon while the Cougars managed just nine. The Warriors scored runs in all but two innings in the doubleheader.
WSU jumped on Sioux Falls early, using a three-run first inning to grab an early lead. Walker's RBI double down the left field line scored Reed Karsten, then Walker scored on a throwing error by the first baseman. Still in the first inning, McKenna Larsen continued her stellar freshman season with a home run to left field for her sixth of the year.
Jamee Schleis added to the lead in the second on an RBI fielder's choice that scored Natalie Kalmes to make it 4-0.
After a Sioux Falls home run in the fourth, WSU got the run back with another of Walker's RBI singles to make it 5-1. The Warriors pulled away in the sixth inning with a Reed Karsten RBI double before a pair of runs crossed the plate on one of Sioux Falls' four errors in the game to claim the 8-1 win.
Game two would prove to be even more lopsided, as WSU accounted for multiple runs in every inning en route to a five-inning win.
Lexi Perez – who went 4-for-6 on the day – led off game two with a single after a fantastic 11-pitch at bat where she fouled off five straight pitches before breaking through with the hit. That set up Karsten, who came through with a rare bunt double – her 22nd of the season and just one shy of Walker's record-setting pace. Larsen later added an RBI groundout to give WSU an early 2-0 lead.
The Warriors would go on to score three runs in each of the next three innings to run away with an 11-1 victory. Kullmann smashed a two-run home run and Kalmes followed suit with a team-leading 11th blast of the season in the third inning. Larsen added another RBI double in the fourth before Kullmann put the exclamation point on the day with her second home run, this one another two-run shot to left field.
Hanna Lythberg (20-7) with the win matched Walker with 20 wins on the season, marking back-to-back seasons with at least 20 victories in the circle. Lythberg again was fantastic, giving up just four hits and no earned runs while striking out four to lower her NSIC-best ERA to 1.47.
Winona State (42-12, 24-5 NSIC) will officially find out later Sunday evening its opponent in the NSIC Tournament to begin Thursday at Sherman Park in Sioux Falls.
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