Box Score

MAUSTON, Wis. – The Southwest Minnesota State baseball team suffered its fifth straight loss on Friday with a 6-2 setback to Winona State in the opening game of a three-game series at the Woodside Sports Complex.
 
The series, which was scheduled to be played in Winona, Minn., will conclude on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
 
The SMSU (2-9, 1-5 NSIC) offense has struggled during the five-game skid having been held to two runs or less and eight or less hits in all five games.
 
Cole Petersen (0-3) pitched the first six innings for the Mustangs and allowed four runs on four this with six walks, three hit batters, while striking out two.
 
WSU (9-9, 3-3 NSIC) snapped a scoreless game in the third pushing across four runs on just two hits, but took advantage of two walks and two hit by pitches.
 
The game remained 4-0 until the sixth when SMSU's Nathan Kuhn singled with one out and would come around to score two batters later on a two-out run-scoring single by Ben Heichel.
 
The Mustangs cut the deficit in half in the eighth as Connor Johnson reached on a two-out infield single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Jayden Fleck followed with a run-scoring double to make the score 4-2.
 
The Warriors added two big insurance runs off of Mustang reliever Donny Schroeder in the bottom of the eight to push the margin to 6-2.
 
Fleck led the SMSU's five-hit offense with a pair of hits.