CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston softball team played their first games at home at the UMC Softball Field since April 28, 2019. The Golden Eagles did not play at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UMN Crookston forced extra innings in the first game against the University of Sioux Falls, but fell in the eighth inning to the Cougars 5-4. The Golden Eagles dropped the second game 8-1.
Minnesota Crookston falls to 5-13 (1-3 NSIC) with Friday's doubleheader losses. Sioux Falls moves to 9-9 (3-1 NSIC) with the victories on Friday.
Game One
The Golden Eagles forced extra innings in game one with four runs in the bottom of the sixth, but a Frankie Michelson RBI single in the top of the eighth helped USF to a 5-4 win.
Katie Humhej (Sr., RHP, Surrey, British Columbia) got the start and went 4.1 innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits, with eight strikeouts and three walks.
Kamryn Frisk (Sr., RHP, Anchorage, Alaska) came on in relief. She went 3.2 innings of effective pitching, but she ultimately got the loss. Frisk allowed one run on five hits with two strikeouts.
Hanna Cress got the win after allowing no runs on one hit in one inning of work.
The Golden Eagles were led by
Rachel Jones, who went 1-of-4 with two RBIs.
Alina Avalos (So., 1B, Riverside, Calif.) was 2-of-4, while
Sarah Velasquez (Fr., OF, Chino, Calif.) went 2-of-2 with a run scored.
Shaelyn Grant (Fr., OF, Grand Junction, Colo.) finished 1-of-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Sioux Falls took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Kennedy Thomas doubled to drive in Damaris Cuevas.
The Cougars added three runs in the fifth. A Kaitlyn VanDerZwaag single plated Mickelson and Shayla Running to extend the lead to 3-0. Later in the inning, Cassie Van Beek reached on an error, allowing Rachel Klassen to score for Sioux Falls to give them a 4-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles got three runs back in the bottom of the sixth. A
Rachel Jones double drove in
Dana Zarn and Velasquez to cut the deficit to 4-2. Later in the stanza, Grant delivered a double to drive in Jones to cut the deficit to 4-3. Grant came in to score on a double steal to knot up the game 4-4.
Sioux Falls had a two-out single from Cuevas in the top of the seventh, but Frisk was able to get a Van Beek groundout to keep the score at 4-4.
Minnesota Crookston looked for the decisive score in the bottom of the seventh. Velasquez singled with one out with one out. USF was able to get out of the frame unscathed as the score remained 4-4 heading to extra innings.
Frisk retired the first two Sioux Falls batters in the top of the eighth. Running then came through with a two-out double. The Cougars took a 5-4 lead when Mickelson singled to plate Running with two outs. Kylan Straight singled and Klassen walked to load up the bases with two outs. Frisk was able to get the third out of the inning to keep the score at 5-4 in favor of Sioux Falls.
The Golden Eagles were unable to get an answer in the bottom of the eighth as Sioux Falls picked up the 5-4 win.
Game Two
The Golden Eagles fell 8-1 in the second game of the doubleheader led by five runs in the top of the second inning.
Frisk got the start and suffered the loss after allowing five runs, none of them earned, on four hits, in 1.2 innings in the circle. Humhej came on in relief, and went 5.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with five strikeouts.
Cress got another win in the circle for Sioux Falls. She allowed just one run on five hits in seven innings. She had an astonishing 15 strikeouts to just three walks on the game.
Minnesota Crookston looked to Zarn, who went 1-of-3 with an RBI. Jones went 1-of-3, as did Avalos, and
Cassie Querry (Sr., C, Cassville, Pa.). Velasquez was 1-of-2 in the game.
Sioux Falls was led by a home run by Cuevas. She was 3-of-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the tilt.
USF got on to the scoreboard first in the second inning. Running delivered a single to drive in VanDerZwaag. Sioux Falls extended their lead to 3-0 when Mickelson reached on an error, to plate Running and
Mika Rodriguez. Later in the stanza, Van Beek singled to score Lexie Swift. USF pushed their lead to 5-0 as Mickelson stole home and scored on an error by the catcher.
Minnesota Crookston got a run in the third when Zarn singled in
Hannah Macias (Jr., OF, West Covina, Calif.).
Sioux Falls pushed their advantage to 6-1 when Cuevas doubled to drive in Van Beek. Later in the top of the fourth, Kylie Madrid hit a sacrifice fly to right to bring in Cuevas to make it 7-1.
Cuevas got the final run of the game in the top of the sixth with a solo home run to help Sioux Falls to the 8-1 win.
The game marked the return to UMC Softball Field for Rodriguez. She was a three-year contributor for the Golden Eagles, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in international business, with a minor in marketing, in the spring of 2020 from UMN Crookston. Rodriguez was not able to get her senior day due to COVID-19. Friday marked her return to the field as a graduate transfer for Sioux Falls.
Minnesota Crookston remains at home Sunday, April 3 as they host Southwest Minnesota State University at 12 and 2 p.m. at UMC Softball Field.
