Photo by Samantha Davis: Southwest Minnesota State University pitcher Ramsey Hopp throws from the circle during a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference softball game against Bemidji State, Saturday in Marshall. SMSU dropped both games of a doubleheader against Winona State at the Maverick All-Sports Dome in Mankato on Friday.

MANKATO — The Southwest Minnesota State University softball team dropped a pair of hard-fought battles against first-place Winona State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Friday. Winona State scored the winning run in the seventh inning of the first game to down SMSU 4-3, and rallied after trailing through five innings in the second game to defeat the Mustangs 10-4.

SMSU falls to 22-16 overall and 8-4 in conference play with the loss. The Warriors, meanwhile, improve to 31-4 and remain undefeated in conference at a perfect 10-0.

SMSU next goes on the road to take on Sioux Falls in a doubleheader at the Sanford Diamonds on Tuesday at 1 p.m.

GAME 1

WSU 4, SMSU 3

The Mustangs played the Warriors neck-and-neck in the first game of the doubleheader, but Winona State pulled ahead in the seventh when Bryn Elsenpeter doubled and scored on an Ashlee Chantos double with two outs.

Jayda Berg took to the circle in the bottom of the seventh and retired the Mustangs in order with a pair of strikeouts to earn the save.

SMSU trailed 2-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth but Aliza Acker singled before scoring the tying run on a Jordyn Marsh single.

Ramsey Hopp fell to 8-10 on the season after pitching the complete game for SMSU. She struck out 10 batters while surrendering four earned runs on 11 hits with a pair of walks.

Winona State built up a 3-0 lead through the first three innings, courtesy of a pair of second-inning runs on a Jenna James fielder’s choice and an Alyssa Woelfel double and an RBI double by Braelee Jodarski in the third.

Still, the Mustangs rallied back in the fourth. A Paris Van Dyke single and an Acker double put runners on the corners, and an Emma Humpal sacrifice fly and a Hopp single drove in the runners to cut the deficit to a run.

Acker finished the game with three hits and a pair of runs for SMSU, while Hopp also reached base twice with a single and a walk.

Izzy Howe got a no-decision in her 5 1/3-inning start for the Warriors, giving up a pair of earned runs on five hits and two strikeouts. Ashley Theisen picked up the win in relief, improving her record to 6-0 after getting two outs while giving up an earned run on two hits and a walk.

Jodarski led the Warrior offense with a pair of doubles and an RBI. Elsenpeter also got a double, a single and a walk while Chantos and Tiegan Mancuso each logged a double and a single as Winona State out-hit SMSU 11-7.

GAME 2

WSU 7, SMSU 4

The Mustangs led 4-3 through the first five innings of the day’s second game, but Winona State surged ahead with a four-run sixth inning. Ava Smith led off the frame with a triple before SMSU retired each of the next two batters, but the Warriors rallied with an RBI single from Whitley Wischmeier, a two-run single by Woelfel and an RBI single from Mancuso.

Winona continued to pile on insurance runs in the seventh. Elsenpeter led the frame off with a double before SMSU again retired each of the next two batters. Yet, the Warriors again rallied with two outs, getting an RBI single from Wischmeier and a two-run single from Nicole Weinberger to bring the gap to 10-4.

Despite a strong first five innings, Jordyn Marsh ended up with the loss to fall to 14-5 on the year. She gave up 10 earned runs on 13 hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Eight of those hits and a walk came in the last two innings.

Theisen picked up her second win of the day after pitching a scoreless 2/3 innings, limiting SMSU to a walk. Howe, meanwhile, earned the save after holding SMSU scoreless over two innings of relief, striking out five batters while giving up a hit and a walk.

Riley Kramolisch and Acker each singled twice in the game, and Van Dyke and Humpal reached base twice with a single and a walk each.

Trailing by a run after a Wischmeier RBI single in the second, SMSU took its first lead of the game in the fourth. Acker and Humpal singled to set the table for Hopp, who reached base on an error that allowed both runners to score for a 2-1 lead.

Winona State regained the lead with a pair of RBI doubles from Woelfel and Mancuso in the top of the fifth, but the Mustangs took the lead right back in the bottom of the frame when Van Dyke singled in Carley Stych and scored herself on a wild pitch.

Berg started the second game in the circle for Winona, giving up three earned runs over 4 1/3 innings on six hits with four strikeouts.

Wischmeier finished the game with three hits, three RBIs and a walk for the Warriors and Woelfel added another three RBIs on a single and a double. Elsenpeter doubled twice and Weinberger and Mancuso logged a single and a double, each.