Lately, the Winona State University softball team can’t seem to win without losing.
A nonconference doubleheader split Sunday with Missouri Western State, which closed out a 14-game spring tour of Florida and Kansas, gave the Warriors six doubleheader splits through seven doubleheaders to start the season.
The Warriors (8-6) did earn a two-game sweep of Northwestern (Fla.) on March 5, but have otherwise gone 1-1 in every twinbill this season.
The Warriors’ early results have been predictably uneven. Take the latest doubleheader. The Warriors came up with seven runs in the third inning and rolled to a 9-0, five-inning victory in Game 1 against Missouri Western State in Emporia, Kan. In Game 2, the Warriors were three-hit in a 6-1 defeat.
The Warriors finished the four-game Kansas road trip 2-2 and the 10-game Florida road trip 6-4.
WSU, which was picked to finish second in the preseason Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference coaches’ poll, has still managed to flash its potential through the early part of the season.
Warriors freshman Stacey Struzynski was tabbed as the NSIC player of the week on March 10 after pitching in four games, starting three and completing two, including a shutout over a promising week of play.
Struzynski allowed just seven runs (five earned) and 16 hits over 19 innings, while striking out 22 and walking six. Her opponent batting average was .235 and she tossed a seven-hit, complete game gem in a 3-2 win over No. 13 Grand Valley State. Struzynski also had a 3-hit, 12-strikeout performance in a 5-0 shutout win over Northwestern.
Winona State senior pitcher Kristen Fossell is fourth in the NSIC with a .209 opponent batting average. Warriors freshman Courtney Strang ranks first in runs allowed with two.
WSU is scheduled to return to action at 2 p.m. today for a nonconference doubleheader against Viterbo.