CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston softball program will open play at the 2017 Tucson Invitational March 12. The Golden Eagles will play 11 games from March 12-18 at Lincoln Park in Tucson, Ariz.

Minnesota Crookston comes into their spring trip with a 4-7 mark. The Golden Eagles have been led by Victoria Bayliss (Jr., OF/2B, West Bloomfield, Mich.), who is hitting .342 with six runs scored and two RBI's. Hailey Fitzpatrick (Fr., 2B, Becker, Minn.) has had a strong start to her career. Fitzpatrick is hitting .350 with two runs scored and four RBI's. Maggie Morales (So., OF/1B, Tucson, Ariz.) will return to her hometown next week. Morales is hitting .321 on the season with four runs scored, four doubles, one home runs and three RBI's.

In the circle, U of M Crookston has been led by the performance of senior pitcher Bailey Braatz (Buffalo, Minn.). Braatz has posted a 3-2 mark with a 3.84 ERA in 31.0 innings pitched. Heather Cunningham (Jr., RHP, Jacksonville, Fla.) has been effective out of the bullpen with a 5.60 ERA and one save in five innings pitched. Mikayla Jones (So., RHP, Huxley, Iowa) comes in with an 0-3 mark and a 7.60 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched.

Minnesota Crookston will open up the Tucson Invitational March 12 at 1 p.m. C.T. against Central College out of Pella, Iowa. Central is a NCAA Division III affiliate. The Dutch will open up play on the 2017 season this week with the game against the Golden Eagles being their fourth of the season. Central went 23-15 last season. The Dutch look to Lauren Bagby and Tabitha Taylor to lead the team at the plate.  Bagby hit .367 with 16 runs scored and nine RBI's last season. Taylor would hit .357 with 20 runs scored, two home runs and 20 RBI's. Senior Karly Olson is the leader in the circle for Central College. Olson was 16-15 with a 2.77 ERA in 159.1 innings pitched in 2016.

The U of M Crookston will continue their day March 12 at 3:30 p.m. C.T. versus Dickinson College, a NCAA Division III affiliate out of Carlisle, Pa. The Red Devils are 1-1 on the season. Dickinson was led in their win by Alicia Lane, who was 2-of-2 with two RBI's. In the circle, the Red Devils looked to Killian Kueny, who gave up two earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and four walks.

Minnesota Crookston will then face Dickinson State University at 5:30 p.m. C.T. Mon., March 13. The Blue Hawks have posted a 4-6 record on the season. Dickinson State looks to Rachael Dillon at the plate. She is hitting .667 with two runs scored and three RBI's. Their pitching staff looks to Jalen Creech, who is 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched.

The Golden Eagles will continue Monday as they face Red River Valley foe Mayville State University in the Grand Canyon State at 8 p.m. C.T. Mayville State is 1-7 on the season. The Comets have been led at the plate by Lauren Coronado, who is hitting .417 with four runs scored and six RBI's. In the circle, Mayville State looks to Shaye Kemball, who is 1-2 with a 4.20 ERA in 30.0 innings pitched.

Minnesota Crookston will take on Huntington University Tues., March 14 at 3:30 p.m. C.T. Huntington is a NAIA affiliate from Huntington, Ind. The Foresters are 1-0-1 on the season. The win went to Camille Furrow, a freshman who gave up just two runs after going scoreless in the first five frames. At the plate, Marty Harris had two RBI's, including a clutch double.

The Golden Eagles will then take on Purdue University Northwest at 5:30 p.m. C.T. Tues., March 14. Purdue University Northwest is an NAIA affiliate located in Hammond, Ind. The Pride come into the week with a 4-2 mark. Purdue University Northwest is paced by Kyleigh Payne, who is hitting .522 with 11 runs scored, four home runs and 13 RBI's, In addition, Holly Pagan comes in with a .520 batting average with seven runs scored, one home run and eight RBI's. The Pride pitching staff looks to Pagan, who is 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA in 9.0 innings pitched, while Caroline Brown is 2-0 with a 2.80 ERA in 15.0 innings pitched.

Minnesota Crookston will have an off day Wed., March 15 before returning to action Thurs., March 16. The Golden Eagles will open the day at 5:30 p.m. C.T. versus Robert Morris University (Ill.). The Eagles, an NAIA affiliate out of Chicago, Ill., are 0-0 on the season. They posted a 7-17 mark last season. They return Joey Crockett, who hit .365 last season with 19 runs scored, three home runs and 28 RBI's. In the circle, Alyssa Galasso posted an 0-2 mark with a 4.45 ERA in 50.1 innings pitched, Sarah McCabe had a 6-12 record with a 4.77 ERA in 102.2 innings pitched.
They will continue their day Thurs., March 16 at 8 p.m.  C.T. against Valley City State University.

The Golden Eagles fell 4-1 to the Vikings in their first game of the season. Valley City State looked to Morgan Nailey, who was 2-of-4 with two RBI's and one run scored. Nailey also was the winning pitcher after giving up just one earned run on five hits in 6.1 innings pitched.

Fri., March 17, the U of M Crookston will take on Valley City State again at 1 p.m. C.T. They will conclude the day at 3:30 p.m. C.T. versus Midland University, a NAIA affiliate out of Fremont, Neb. The Warriors have posted a 6-5 mark on the season. Midland went 22-29 last season. They return Katie Heard at the plate, who hit .384 with 34 runs scored and 19 RBI's. In the circle, Stephanie Norrick was 8-7 last season with a 4.66 ERA in 118.2 innings pitched.

The Golden Eagles will conclude the Tucson Invitational Sat., March 18 against Midland at 11 a.m. C.T. before boarding a plane back to Minnesota.