ABERDEEN, S.D. – The University of Minnesota Crookston softball team picked up a split on day two at the Presentation College Indoor. The Golden Eagles picked up a 4-3 win over Dakota Wesleyan University after a strong performance in the circle from Bailey Braatz (Sr., RHP, Buffalo, Minn.). UMC would win in extra innings as Victoria Bayliss (Jr., OF/2B, West Bloomfield, Mich.) scored on a Maycee Trujillo (So., 3B/C, Sioux Falls, S.D.) groundout in the eighth inning. Minnesota Crookston fell in game one of the day 10-3 to Jamestown University.

"We opened up with a bad inning and then played 14 solid innings to earn the split," said Head Coach Don Stopa. "Kassidy (Klaphake) was up in the zone to start game 1 and Jamestown took advantage. Mikayla (Jones) did a great job out of the pen. In game two, we got a team win. Bailey (Braatz) was great in the circle and we did all of the small things to win."

Minnesota Crookston owns a 1-3 mark after the second day of the 2017 season. Jamestown has a 1-3 record after Sunday, while Dakota Wesleyan is also 1-3 on the season.

Braatz got the ball on day two against Dakota Wesleyan. The senior pitcher would go eight innings and would give up just three earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. Braatz moves to 1-1 after earning the win over the Tigers.

Minnesota Crookston would open up the scoring as Bayliss laced a double to drive in Jozie Garner (Sr., OF, Eureka, Kan.) to put UMC up 1-0.

Dakota Wesleyan would take the lead in the third as Karly Severance hit one over the fence to drive in herself and Sierra Haage to put the Tigers ahead 2-1.

The Tigers would extend their lead to 3-1 when Melysia Ortega singled to plate Katherine Holt.

Gabriel Antolak (Jr., C/3B, Zimmerman, Minn.) came through with the big hit in the sixth as she tripled to drive in Bayliss and Jenna Boardman (Jr., SS, Genoa, Wis.) and knot the game up 3-3.

Dakota Wesleyan would pose a threat in the bottom of the sixth. The Tigers would load the bases with one out. That is when Braatz stepped up to get out of any danger. She got Holt to ground into a fielder's choice to get the runner out at home. Braatz then came through with a big strikeout of Katelyne Dougherty.

Neither team would come through in the seventh as the game went into extra innings. Bayliss would lead off the top of the eighth with a single, followed by an Antolak single. With one out, Trujillo would groundout to drive in Bayliss.

One runner would reach in the bottom of the eighth, but Braatz would be able to keep her at second base as she mowed down the rest of the Tiger lineup.

Minnesota Crookston was led by Antolak, who was 2-of-4 with two RBI's. Bayliss also went 2-of-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.

The loss for Dakota Wesleyan fell on Haage, who pitched eight innings, giving up four earned runs on eight hits.

Kassidy Klaphake (Jr., RHP, Cold Spring, Minn.) would get the start for the Golden Eagles against Jamestown. Klaphake would run into trouble in the first inning as she gave up nine runs. She would be pulled after getting just two outs. She gave up eight earned runs on eight hits.

Mikayla Jones (So., RHP, Huxley, Iowa) would come on in relief and shut the Jimmies down the rest of the way as she gave up just one earned run on five hits in 5.1 innings with four strikeouts.

The Jimmies were led in the first inning by a pair of two RBI doubles from Kelly Halverson and Brittany Rheault to help catapult them to a 9-0 advantage early on.

Minnesota Crookston would cut the lead to 9-2 in the second. Boardman would reach on an error by the left fielder to drive in Sam Rarick (So., UT, East Grand Forks, Minn.). Later in the inning, Garner hit a single to push Boardman across.
The Golden Eagles would score one more run in the fourth when Rarick grounded out to drive in Kate Howell (Sr., OF, Badger, Minn.).

Jamestown would get a security run in the fourth when M Braun singled to plate Halverson to make it 10-3.

The win for the Jimmies would go to Rheault, who went 4.0 innings and gave up just two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts.

Minnesota Crookston was led at the plate by Garner, who was 2-of-2 with one RBI. Rarick would go 1-of-1 with one run scored.

UMC was led on the first weekend by the performance in the circle by Braatz, who showed her senior leadership going 1-1 with a 3.07 ERA in 13.2 innings pitched with seven strikeouts. At the plate, Maggie Morales (So., OF/1B, Tucson, Ariz.) hit .429 for the weekend with three doubles, while Antolak was 4-of-12 with two doubles and a triple with two RBI's.

Minnesota Crookston will return to action Feb. 27 as they head to the Minot State Invitational, which has been relocated to the PC Dome, where they played this weekend, in Aberdeen, S.D. The Golden Eagles will take on Minot State at 10 a.m. and Minnesota State University Moorhead at 12 p.m.