(Winona, Minn.) – The University of Minnesota, Crookston Women's Softball team traveled to Winona State today to play #11 ranked Winona State University in the NSIC opener. After a two week layoff, the Golden Eagles picked up where they left off in Florida. The team played an outstanding game in all aspects and took a 3-2 lead in the fourth before the Warriors added one in the fifth and ended the game with a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the seventh for a 4-3 victory. WSU didn't hit all that well in the second game but used some infield hits and bloop hits to manufacture some runs in an 8-0 win.
 
Game 1: UMC jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Rachel Schoenborn (2B, 5-4, Fr, Anchorage, Alaska) earned a walk and was driven in by Stacey Marcum (P, 5-7, So, Merill, Wis.) on the team's first homerun of the season. Winona State tied the game in the bottom of the first with a single and a homerun of its own. The Golden Eagles added a run in the fourth when Marcum singled and was pinch run for by Sarah Johnson (OF, 5-5, Fr, Plymouth, Minn.). She advanced to second on a Sarena Diederichs (C, 5-8, Sr, St. Cloud, Minn.) single and to third on an infield error. Katie Bowar (1B, 5-4, Sr, Moorhead, Minn.) earned the team's third RBI of the game with a single to left field. Winona added a run in the bottom of the fifth and in the bottom of the seventh the game ended when Kathy Crudo hit her second homerun of the game. Crudo was 4-4 with four RBI and two runs scored. Marcum threw a great game giving up 11 hits and four earned runs.
 
Game 2: Golden Eagle pitcher Steph Thomas (P/DP, 5-9, Sr, St. Albert, Alberta) started the second game where Marcum left off. After a UMC infield error, WSU earned another infield hit and scored on a hit to right field. With two outs, right fielder Kelli Burns (OF, 5-6, Fr, Montrose, Minn.) made a sensational diving catch down the right field line to end the inning and save two runs. Thomas continued to throw well and only gave up one well hit ball that went for a homerun. WSU scored two runs in the fourth and five runs in the fifth to take the 8-0 win. Thomas gave up nine hits and just four earned runs in the loss.
 
Diederichs led the Golden Eagles on the day with a .600 (3-5) batting average. She hit one double and had a slugging percentage of .800.
 
The Golden Eagles are now 6-10 overall and 0-2 in the NSIC. Winona State advances to 18-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play. UMC returns to the field on Sunday, April 3 to play Upper Iowa in Fayette, Iowa. Game time is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
 
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.
 
The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).
 
 
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