Collegiate Weekend Preview from the Diamond

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After another tough week of weather, cancelations and postponements, the sun looks as if it may finally cooperate for weekend action on the diamond. Both Saint Mary’s and Winona State have baseball and softball matchups throughout the whole weekend.

Saint Mary’s

Baseball

For a whopping sixth time, the Cardinals were unable to face Augsburg as they push the matchup back to April 2oth. Luckily for the Cards they were able to get at least one warmup series in before the weekend. On Wednesday they faced Bethel University in a double-header. They split the double-header, losing the first one 6-2 then winning the second game 8-6. Justin Haugo registered his first win for the Cardinals on the season, as three Cardinal players got at least 3 hits at the plate. Daniel Marxen led the Cardinals with four RBIs in game two. Cardinals improved to 12-11 on the season and 4-2 in conference play as they now shift their attention to Macalaster College, who comes to town for a doubleheader on Saturday. Macalaster is 4-13 on the season and are still searching for their first conference win. First pitch set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Softball

Cardinal Softball were forced to cancel their two-game series with UW-River Falls today, marking only the first cancellation on the season for the team. Earlier in the week, they faced Hamline University in a double-header, in which they took the first game convincingly and have yet to finish the second game. Play was suspended in the 10th inning, tied 3-3. There’s no update on when that game will be made up, regardless, the Cardinal Softball team will have to look past it and focus on the task at hand. They flip-flop locations with the baseball team and make the trip to Macalaster College up in Saint Paul. Cardinal Softball come into this tilt sitting at 11-9 on the season and 4-5 in conference play while Macalaster holds a 9-15 record, 3-5 in conference play. First pitch in Saint Paul slated for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Winona State

Baseball

The Warrior Baseball team will take two straight victories into the weekend tilt where they face Mankato in a three-game series. Game one will come later tonight, and a double-header is scheduled for tomorrow. The Warriors beat Bemidji State in both games of a double-header earlier in the week. They found themselves down early in both games but came out handedly on top after the bats got going late. Justin Firpo and Caleb Strack each got a W added to their record for the Warriors. After a rough start to the season, the Warriors have now improved to 9-14 and 7-5 in conference. First pitch for tonight’s nine-inning game slated for 3:00 p.m. The double-header tomorrow set for 1:00 p.m.

Softball

Despite the weather, the Warrior softball team are getting hot, starting the conference season at 8-2, giving up a combined 11 runs in their wins. Their games earlier in the week with Concordia were cancelled so the team will have a full six days of rest before facing Duluth and Saint Cloud over the weekend. They start with Duluth, who come to Winona for a double-header later today, first pitch set for 2:00 p.m. in game one of two. Duluth, like Winona, are hot to start the conference season, boasting a record of 25-10 and 10-4 in conference play, they’ve also won five straight. Liz Pautz expected to get at least two games from the bump, no telling if she could pitch more.