CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team will head to Florida for five games from March 14-18. The Golden Eagles will participate in the Winning Inning Invitational March 14-16 and then play a game March 18 against Johnson University.

Minnesota Crookston will open things up at the Winning Inning Invitational, in which this is the third year UMC has participated in the tournament. Games in the Winning Inning Inviational will be played at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium in Clearwater, Fla. and the Walter Fuller Baseball Complex in St. Petersburg, Fla. Jack Russell Memorial Stadium in the formal Major League Baseball Spring Training home of the Philadelphia Phillies and a beautiful setting for baseball in which UMC has played games in each of the last two seasons. The Walter Fuller Baseball Complex is the former spring training home of the Tampa Bay Rays. This will be the first time UMC will play at the Walter Fuller Baseball Complex.

Minnesota Crookston comes into the games with an 0-7 mark after a four-game series with Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo., and a three-game series with Mayville State University in Sabetha, Kan. The Golden Eagles have been competitive in several of the games but have come up just short. They will seek their first win during their trip in Florida.

The Golden Eagles have been led at the plate by the bat of Ryan Haggstrom (So., C/1B/P, Apple Valley, Minn./Accounting). Haggstrom is hitting .458 on the season in 24 at-bats with 11 hits, three runs scored and one RBI. In addition to Haggstrom, Patrick Higgins (Fr., OF/2B, Eagan, Minn./Criminal Justice) comes in hitting  .364 with three runs scored, while Marcus Campbell (So., OF/P, St. Croix Falls, Wis./Golf and Turf Management) is batting .286 with three RBI.

On the mound, UMC has been led by starting pitchers Richie Navratil (Sr., P, Blansko, Czech Republic/Sports and Rec Management) and Jon Mittag (Sr., P, Glenville, Minn./Sports and Rec Management). Navratil has pitched 16 innings with six earned runs given up, two strikeouts and 18 hits allowed. Navratil gave up just three runs in his last outing against Mayville State, after taking a three-hit shutout into the eighth inning. Navratil has a 3.38 ERA coming into Florida. Mittag owns a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings pitched with four earned runs given up on 18 hits.

The Golden Eagles will open up play in Florida Fri., March 14 against Hillsdale College, a NCAA Division II member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The game will be played at 9 a.m. at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, Fla. Hillsdale is located in Hillsdale, Mich. The Chargers are 1-7 on the season with their win coming over Davis and Elkins College in their season opener. Hillsdale is led by the bat of Luke Ortel, who comes in hitting .333 with three runs scored and one RBI. Ethan Wiskur is batting .320 with four runs scored and one RBI. On the mound, Matthew Reck leads the way with 10 innings pitched and a 9.00 ERA.

The Golden Eagles will face West Chester University March 15 at 8 a.m. at the Walter Fuller Complex in St. Petersburg, Fla. West Chester is a NCAA Division II member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) located in West Chester, Pa.. The Golden Rams are 3-1 on the year with wins over Post University, College of Saint Rose and Philadelphia University. West Chester is led at the plate by Justin Roman, who is batting .438 with four runs scored and three RBI's. In addition to Roman, Matt Petrizzi comes in hitting .375 with five runs scored and four RBI's. On the mound, Fred Breidenbach leads the way with a .164 ERA in 11 innings pitched with 10 strikeouts.

The Golden Eagles will take part in a doubleheader the third day of the trip March 16. UMC will open things up the day against Slippery Rock University at 9 a.m. at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, Fla. Slippery Rock is an NCAA Division II member of the PSAC located in Slippery Rock, Pa. The Rock is 5-4 on the season with wins over No. 20 Shippensburg University, King University and Walsh University. Slippery Rock has been led by Adam Urbania, who is abtting .500 in 32 at-bats with 11 runs scored and four RBI's. In addition to Urbania, Alex Bell comes in batting .361 with seven runs scored and 11 RBI's. On the mound, the Rock is led by Kyle Schneider, who comes in with a 3.06 ERA in 17.2 innings pitched with six strikeouts.

The second part of the doubleheader on the day will put Minnesota Crookston against Lock Haven University at 1 p.m. at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium in Clearwater, Fla. Lock Haven is a NCAA Division II member of the PSAC located in Lock Haven, Pa. The Bald Eagles are 6-2 currently. Lock Haven is led at the plate by Ryan Koch, who is hitting .385 with seven runs scored and four RBI's. In addition to Koch, Austin Botts comes in batting .367 with six runs scored and 12 RBI's. On the mound, Joe Nestor leads the way with an 0.60 ERA in 15 innings pitched with 13 strikeouts on the year.

UMC will round out their Florida excursion Tues., March 18 as they take on Johnson University at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium in Clearwater, Fla. at 6 p.m. The game against Johnson will be outside of the Winning Inning Invitational. The Golden Eagles played the Suns last year when they were known as Florida Christian College. Johnson won the lone game the two teams played 7-1. They were scheduled to play a second game but the contest was rained out turning into what was an intense competition of skits and dancing between the two dugots. The Suns are a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) from Kissimmee, Fla. 

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.

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).