St. Cloud, Minn.—The University of Minnesota Crookston softball team hits the road once again this weekend for five games in St. Cloud, Minn., and the Husky Dome.
 
Minnesota Crookston played three games last weekend out in Minot, N.D., and started 2-1, with wins over Bemidji State and Black Hills State. The 2-1 start is the best start for the Golden Eagles in program history.
 
The Golden Eagles will play one game on Friday, two on Saturday and another pair on Sunday afternoon, before heading back to Crookston.
 
Fri., Feb. 14
vs Bemidji State, 5 p.m., St. Cloud, Minn.
Live Stats- https://scsuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary

Sat., Feb. 15
vs Northwestern College (Iowa), 9 a.m., St. Cloud, Minn.
Live Stats- https://scsuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary

vs St. Cloud State, 11 a.m., St. Cloud, Minn.
Live Stats- https://scsuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary

Sun., Feb. 16
vs William Jewell College (Mo.), 9 a.m., St. Cloud, Minn.
Live Stats- https://scsuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
vs Viterbo (Wis.), 11 a.m., St. Cloud, Minn.
Live Stats- https://scsuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
 
A Look at the Golden Eagles
A year after breaking the school record for most wins in a single season in Travis Owen's first season as the Head Coach, the Golden Eagles are off to an even better start in the 2020 season. Minnesota Crookston won two games in a row to start the season for the first time ever. In their third and final game in Minot, Minnesota Crookston fell to Minot State, 4-3.
 
Through three games offensively, the Golden Eagles are hitting at a .345 clip, with three home runs and have scored 22 runs. Minnesota Crookston is averaging 7.3 runs per game. Malia Pula (Sr., UT, Gilroy, Calif.), is off to a blazing start this season. The senior is hitting .667, while driving in three runs and scoring two. Gabriella Blomdahl (Fr., OF, Duluth, Minn.) is enjoying a nice start to her season, collecting four hits in eight at bats, while scoring two runs. Cassie Querry (Jr., C, Cassville, Pa.) and Leah Macias (So., OF, West Covina, Calif.) have shown power early on this season. Querry has two home runs, while Macias has one.
 
In the circle, the Golden Eagles have gotten off to a good start. They have a team ERA of 2.80, while their opponents have given up almost eight runs per game against the Golden Eagles. Paige Pitlick (Sr., RHP, Jordan, Minn.) tossed a shutout in Saturday night's 9-0 win over Bemidji State. In 9.2 innings pitched over the weekend, Pitlick struck out ten, while walking just two. Kamryn Frisk (Jr., RHP/1B, Anchorage, Ak.) and Alina Avilos (Fr., RHP/1B, Riverside, Calif.) each enjoyed a solid weekend in their Golden Eagles debut as well.
 
Bemidji State Preview
In their first full season under new Head Coach Brittany Gomez, the Beavers, who were also out in Minot, went 1-2, dropping the first two games of the season, before defeating Black Hills State 4-1 in their final game. This will be the second meeting between the Beavers and Golden Eagles in as many weeks.
 
Offensively, the Beavers have three hitters who hit over .300, led by Sami Dullum. Elaina Christianson and Olivia Tucker are also leading the Beavers offense. Emmarie Yeager is hitting .286, but leads the Beavers with four RBI's.
 
In the circle, the Beavers have struggled through three games, evident by having a 7.37 team ERA. Stephi Dullum leads the rotation with a 1.75 ERA in two starts.
 
Northwestern College (Iowa) Preview
The Red Raiders, who compete in the Great Plains Athletic Conference are an NAIA school. They are off to a nice 2-0 start this season, coming off a two-game sweep of Waldorf College.
 
The Red Raiders scored 24 runs in two games, including a 13-3 shellacking of the Warriors in five innings, in their first game of the season. A season ago, the Red Raiders finished 18-25, but had some underclassmen lead the way offensively, including Jennifer Boeve and Emily Bosch, who hit .380 and .327, respectively. Devin Dreesen also returns after hitting .310 with one homerun in her freshman season.
 
Pitching wise, Emma Schnell and Samantha Ubben return to make a pretty good 1-2 punch for Northwestern. Schnell led the way last season, with nine complete games, 11 wins and led the team in innings pitched and strikeouts.
 
St. Cloud State Preview
This will be the first games of the 2020 season for the NSIC conference tournament runner-ups and NCAA Central region participant. The Huskies finished 43-18 a season ago and fell to Winona State in the conference championship, as well as the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Golden Eagles lost both games to the Huskies a season ago.
 
A season ago, the Huskies had one of the best offenses in the NSIC. They return their best hitter in terms of hitting percentage in Maya Keating, who hit .401 a season ago with 49 runs scored. In fact, the Huskies had seven hitters hit over .300 a season ago and unfortunately for SCSU opponents this season, they all return. The Huskies are capable of hitting the ball over the fence as well. Jasmine Estrada, a native of Litchfield, Minn., led her team in doubles and in RBI's and second in home runs with 11. The Huskies hit 50 homeruns as a team a season ago and Estrada, Raven Vanden Langenburg and Megan Conrads played a big role in that.
 
Based on their record a season ago, it's no surprise that the Huskies were also very good in the circle. Despite it being a small sample size, Emma Murphy had a nice season last year, finishing 1-0 with a .72 ERA, albeit in just 9.2 innings pitched. Lauren Kirchberg and Sydney Lapoint are expected to play a big role in the circle as well this season.
 
William Jewell (Mo.) Preview
Much like St. Cloud State, this will be the first games of the season for the Cardinals, who are coming off of a 24-24 season in 2019.
 
The Cardinals lose their best hitter from a season ago, Courtney Beatty due to graduation, who led the team in average, RBI's and hits. However, William Jewell does return seniors Lindsay Glynn and Emily Hoover, who hit .333 and .302, respectively. The Cardinals hit just .274 as a team in 2019.
 
In the circle, William Jewell returns nice pieces in sophomores Kenzie Jones and Aly Manhart. As freshmen last season, Jones and Manhart combined to pitch in 15 games, with one start, which came from Jones. Although it was a small sample size, William Jewell expects those two to lead the way this season.
 
Viterbo (Wis.) Preview
The V-Hawks are an NAIA school, who compete in the North Star Athletic Association. This will also be the start of the 2020 season for the school based in La Crosse, Wis.
 
The V-Hawks struggled at times offensively last season, scoring almost 90 less runs than their opponents and hit just 12 home runs. Brooklyn Ottelien is back after leading the team in batting average and RBI's. Autumn Olson, Sonya McCormick and Alyssa Nilssen are expected to play big parts in the Viterbo lineup this season.
 
In the circle, Viterbo will look to the trio of Kendyl Schine, Caitlyn Amberg and Ottelien to lead the way this season. Schine was the second best pitcher a season ago for the V-Hawks, finishing 2-7 with three saves, while having a 4.13 ERA in 74.1 innings of work. The duo of Schine and Ottelien combined to strike out 50 hitters in 2019.