Minot, N.D.— Over the past two seasons, it seems like Minot, N.D., has been kind of like a second home for Head Coach Travis Owen and Golden Eagles softball. It will be no different this weekend, as the Golden Eagles head back out west for four games this Saturday and Sunday, in Minot.
 
Last weekend, the Golden Eagles lost their first three games in St. Cloud, but salvaged the weekend with two wins on Sunday, a 6-2 win over William Jewel and a 9-6 win over Viterbo (Wis.). The Golden Eagles are currently off to their best start in school history, with a 4-4 record.
 
Saturday, Feb. 22
vs Minot State (10 a.m.)
Live Stats- https://msubeavers.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
vs UMary (12 p.m.)
Live Stats- https://msubeavers.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Sunday, Feb. 23
vs Montana State University Billings (9:30 a.m.)
Live Stats- https://msubeavers.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
vs Northern State (1:30 p.m.)
Live Stats- https://msubeavers.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
 
Minnesota Crookston
A big reason for the solid 4-4 start for the Golden Eagles has been the bat of Malia Pula (Sr., UT, Gilroy, Calif.). The Golden State native is off to a blazing start, hitting .563, with an OPS (On-Base plus slugging) of 1.264. Pula leads the team with 32 at-bats, 18 hits, four doubles and eight RBI's. Pula already has four games with three or more hits, including a 5-5 game in a win over Black Hill State earlier this season.
 
Cassie Querry (Jr., C, Cassville, Pa.) and Gabriella Blomdahl (Fr., OF, Duluth, Minn.) are both off to solid starts in their Golden Eagles career. Both are hitting over .300 and Querry leads the team with two homeruns. As a team, the Golden Eagles are 10^th in the conference in hitting, but are second in the league in team RBI's and third in runs scored. Jordan Peterson (Jr., UT, Lakeville, Minn.) is also hitting over .300 in six games this season.
 
In the circle, the Golden Eagles like their depth, but have been unquestionably led by senior Paige Pitlick (Sr., P, Jordan, Minn.). In five appearances and four starts, Pitlick has a 1.77 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched, allowing just ten runs, just six of which earned, while striking out 29 hitters. The 29 strikeouts are second in the NSIC, just behind Ashley Mickschl from Augustana. Alina Avilos (Fr., P/1B, Riverside, Calif.) and Kamryn Frisk (Jr., RHP/1B, Anchorage, Ak.) round out the rotation for the Golden Eagles.
 
Minot State
Much like the Golden Eagles, the Beavers head into this Saturday's game with the exact same record; 4-4. The Beavers did not play this past weekend. Minot State already defeated the Golden Eagles in the dome, 4-3.
 
Minot State has five hitters hitting over the .300 mark, led by freshman outfielder Lauryn DeGuzman. The Elk Grove, Calif., native is hitting .519 with two homeruns and seven RBI's. DeGuzman is tied for the team lead with eight runs scored. Deguzman, Isis Cabral and Haley Hernandez have showed pop this season, combing for seven homeruns for the Beavers.
 
In the circle, Zoya Robbins has gotten six starts on the season, appearing in eight games. Robbins is 3-2 with 6.37 ERA in 29.2 innings pitched, while striking out 17. Roxanne Ines and Karlee Coughlin have each gotten a start for Minot State as well this season.
 
UMary
This Saturday's game against the Golden Eagles will be the first game for the Maruaders in almost three weeks. UMary's last game was a 10-4 win over Oklahoma Baptist University in Las Vegas, Nev.
 
Offensively, the Marauders are led by Mikaela Pelesauma, who through five games, leads her team with a .389 batting average and leads her team with seven hits. Kaitlyn Alvarado and Rachael Laetsch are also hitting over .300 for the Marauders as well. As a team, UMary is hitting .270 on the season.
 
Madison Jahner and Casey Beemiller have started three and two games in the circle, respectively. Jahner is 1-0 in three starts, with eight runs allowed. Beemiller is 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA, while also giving up eight runs. The Maruaders don't have many power arms in the circle, with four pitchers combining for just nine strikeouts in five games.
 
Montana State University Billings
The Yellowjackets got off to a really good start, starting out 3-0 on the season, but have lost four out of their previous six games, to bring in a 5-6 record into Minot this weekend.
 
Payton Reynolds and Marin Penney are no doubt the two biggest threats in the batter's box for the Yellowjackets. Reynolds and Penney have hit three homeruns apiece, while each hitting .450. Reynolds leads the team with seven RBI's, while Penney is tied for second on the team with six RBI's. Skyler Jenkins and Morgan Quimby are also having nice seasons, each hitting over .340.
 
The Yellowjackets have struggled pitching-wise this season, having a team ERA of 5.76 through 11 games this season. Julia Qualteri, Maddy Lincoln and Alyssa Ethridge have started 10 of the possible 11 games for MSU-Billings. Ethridge leads the team with 16 strikeouts. The Yellowjackets have just 33 strikeouts as a staff, compared to 70 for their opponents.
 
Northern State
Yet another NSIC foe this weekend, the Wolves are off to a 4-0 start this season, after sweeping Black Hills State in early February. Like the Maruaders, this will be the first games for NSU in almost three weeks.
 
Offensively, Anne Jonas, Rachel Reinke and Jen Martin are each hitting above .450, while also leading the team with six hits. Kennedy Thompson and Reinke are the only Wolves to hit the ball over the fence early on this season, hitting two and one, respectively. Jonas and Reinke have also scored seven runs each, which leads the team.
 
Dystine Priebe and Meghan Anderson lead a rotation that has gotten off to a nice start this season. Each are 2-0, while carrying an ERA of .81 and 1.00 on the season, respectively. Anderson has 15 strikeouts in 14.0 innings of work, while Priebe has six in 8.2 innings pitched.