Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CROOKSTON, Minn.-  The University of Minnesota Crookston softball team was led by the strong pitching performance from Bailey Braatz (So., RHP, Buffalo, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) and a home run from Gabriel Antolak (Fr., C, Zimmerman, Minn./Equine Science). UMC would fall in game one  in a 11-inning showdown 4-3 despite a strong performance and would drop game two 9-0.

The Golden Eagles fall to 4-42 (0-28 NSIC) with Saturday's losses, while Northern State improves to 30-20 (17-10 NSIC).

Saturday's game one performance was led by one of Braatz' strongest outings of the season. The UMC righty went 11 innings and 157 pitches, allowing four earned runs on 12 hits with three strikeouts. Braatz did everything she could do to keep UMC in the game.

On the other end, Kami Smesmo of Northern State did the same, going 11 innings and throwing 156 pitches, allowing three earned runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts.

The Golden Eagles would open up the game one scoring as Josee Plante (Sr., 3B, Manitou, Manitoba/Health Science) singled to right center to drive in Shelby Hollinger (Sr., 2B, Neudorf, Saskatchewan/Health Science).

Northern State would knot the game up 1-1 in the fourth as Eryn Yancy hit a solo home run to right center off of Braatz.

The Wolves would add another run in the seventh as Michaela Liebl doubled to left field to drive in Brittney Lash.

Down 2-1 with just one chance in the seventh, the Golden Eagles came through in a big way as Antolak hit a solo home run to left field to knot up the game at 2-2 and send the game to extras.

Braatz and Smesmo would continue their strong pitching over the next three innings as the score remained 2-2. In the 11th, Lash would finally come through with a two-run home run to drive in herself and Macey Engle to put the score to 4-2.

The Golden Eagles would one last chance in the bottom of the 11th. With one out, Antolak would walk. Braatz would come through with a clutch double to drive in to cut the deficit to 4-3. However Smesmo would retire the final two batters as Northern State won 4-2.

The Golden Eagles were led in game one by Victoria Bayliss (Fr., OF, West Bloomfield, Mich./Elementary Education), who was 2-of-5 on the game. Plante was 2-of-5, while Antolak was 1-of-3 with one RBI and two runs scored.

Game two would be all Northern State from the on-set led by a three-run home run from Kelsey Gale, who would dominate the game, going 3-of-4 with two runs scored and seven RBI's.

In addition to Gale's performance, Yancy would hit an RBI single in the third and Lauren Kunz  doubled to drive in Engel.

UMC was led by Bayliss in game two, who went 2-of-3 for the game.

Jordyn Derflinger (Jr., RHP, Henderson, Nev./Elementary Education) got the start and would go five innings, giving up six runs, four of them earned, on eight hits. Brooke Vatthauer (Sr., LHP, Crookston, Minn./Health Science) would come on in relief and give up three earned runs on two hits.

Missy Elkins got the game two win, shutting down UMC on six hits with one strikeout.

The Golden Eagles will wrap up the 2015 slate April 26 at 1 and 3 p.m. against Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Golden Eagles will look to wrap up the season with a conference win. The day will also mark Senior Day for Shelby Hollinger (Sr., 2B, Neudorf, Saskatchewan/Health Science), Vatthauer and Plante.

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 a NCAA Division II university located in the Red River Valley of Northwest Minnesota. UMC sponsors 11 intercollegiate athletic teams with membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference (NSIC) and the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The NSIC is a 16-team conference with schools situated in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.
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