WSU Splits Two Games With Conference Opponent Augustana
The Swamps traveled to Moline, IL on Saturday 3/28 to kick off conference play for the spring portion of the season. With mild weather and clear blue skies, WSU started hot behind the bat of Logan Mertens and a stunning effort on the mound by Matt Navis. Mert went 3-4 on the day with 3 two-baggers, while on the other side of the ball Navis shut down the Vikings with only three allowed hits, 1 earned run, 10 strikeouts and no walks leading Winona to a 14-4 mercy-rule victory. The fun didn't last in game 2 unfortunately as the Swamps couldn't get the bats hot early on and had to fight hard defensively to maintain a thin lead. A great 6-inning effort by Cody Kreiner on the bump wasn't enough as Augustana woke up the bats in the top of 7 to strike for 7 runs, leaving WSU in a hole going into the bottom of the inning that they just couldn't recover from, and the Swamps fell 9-8. Game 3 of the series was postponed due to rain and will be made up at a later date.