May 7, 2023
WINONA, MINN. – The University of Sioux Falls baseball team hit the road to wrap up their 2023 regular season campaign against Winona State. The Cougars took game three against the Warriors, 7-6, but dropped the first two games of the series 6-5 and 2-0.
GAME ONE – L, 6-5
Game one against the Warriors went into extended innings before being suspended in the top of the 13th inning due to weather. The two teams would resume the game Saturday morning as the Warriors knocked one in during the bottom of the 13th inning to secure a 6-5 victory.
Sioux Falls jumped out to an early 5-0 lead against Winona as they added one in the first and four in the second. The Warriors added three in the bottom of the fourth along with two more in the sixth to even it up at five before the game was suspended.
Tyler Cate and Noah Christenson led the Coo going 2-for-5 at the plate and both having two stolen bases on the day. Cate brought in two RBIs for Sioux Falls while crossing the dish twice.
Grayson Skinner started on the mound for Sioux Falls pitching 5.2 innings with two strikeouts while facing 31 batters. Garrett Oswald made a brief relief appearance forcing three strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched before Derek Lundgren finished off the night with four strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched just before the game was halted. Connor McGonigal took the mound to resume the game the next day facing six batters and forcing two strikeouts before the Warriors were able to take game one.
GAME TWO – L, 2-0
Sioux Falls struggled to get the bats going as they had just three hits throughout game two.
Isaac Bonner led USF at the plate going 2-for-3 followed by Sterling Haphey with the teams only other hit on the day.
Caleb Ditmarson pitched a complete game with a season high nine strikeouts. Ditmarson faced 25 batters giving up just one walk, two runs and six hits.
GAME THREE – W, 7-6
Winona jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before Sioux Falls responded in the seventh with two runs along with a big five run inning in the ninth.
Tyler Cate led the team going 4-for-5 with a double in the top of the seventh. David Swanson went 3-for-5 followed by Zach Andreasen and Weston Gjerde both of which went 2-for-5 at the dish.
Isaac Bonner brought in three RBIs for the Coo in game three followed by Ben Serie, Swanson and Andreasen each with one.
Logan Anderson started on the mound for the series finale pitching 4.0 innings with three strikeouts before Logan Parker-Sjoberg and Zach Whitesell combined for another four innings for Sioux Falls. Serie came in to close out the game in the ninth and pick up the win.
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