Crookston, Minn. – It's back at home once again this weekend for the Golden Eagles, who will host the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul this Saturday and Minnesota State Mankato this Sunday for a pair of doubleheaders. The Golden Eagles are coming off a pair of one-run games against St. Cloud State, which resulted in a split with the Huskies.
How to Follow
Concordia-St. Paul at Minnesota Crookston
Sat., April 24
2 / 4 p.m.
Crookston, Minn. / UMC Softball Field
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Minnesota State Mankato at Minnesota Crookston
Sun., April 25
1 / 3 p.m.
Crookston, Minn. / UMC Softball Field
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Minnesota Crookston (8-24, 4-14 NSIC)
The Golden Eagles might have found their groove at the plate in yesterday's doubleheader against the Huskies. The Golden Eagles collected 16 hits in two games against one of the better pitching staffs in the NSIC. Individually, the Golden Eagles have been led by
Dana Zarn (So., UT, Winnipeg, Manitoba), who leads the way with a .347 average and a .891 OPS. Zarn is tied with
Cassie Querry (Sr., C/3B, Cassville, Pa.) for the team lead with 12 RBI's. Querry also leads the team with three home runs. The Golden Eagles have scored 102 runs on the season.
In the circle,
Katie Humhej (Sr., P, Surrey, British Columbia) has been terrific. Humhej kept a good Huskies offense silent for a majority of game one on Thursday afternoon. For the season, Humhej is 15
th in the NSIC with her 2.81 ERA, sixth in the NSIC with 114 strikeouts and has eight complete games with two shutouts on the season.
Sofia Gombos (Fr., P, Salinas, Calif.) has had a solid first season for the maroon and gold as well.
Concordia-St. Paul (17-15, 11-7 NSIC)
The Golden Bears are currently in seventh in the NSIC and won four in a row against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth, before falling to Winona State yesterday in a doubleheader.
The Golden Bears offense is led by Grace Beseman. Beseman is hitting .360 on the season with a 1.053 OPS, with eight home runs and 28 RBI's. Her eight home runs are fourth in the NSIC. Clara Heislen is second on the team with a .320 average, while both Kris McIntrye and Amanda Parsons are each hitting .312 on the season. The Golden Bears are currently fourth in the NSIC with 34 home runs.
Kali Kaestner leads the way for CSP in the circle. Her 2.48 ERA leads the Golden Bear pitching staff, as do her 79 innings pitched and 79 strikeouts on the season. Bryanna Olson and Aryka Knoche round out the pitching staff for the Golden Bears with a combined 19 starts on the season.
Minnesota State (24-7, 13-5 NSIC)
The Mavericks might be one of the hottest teams in the conference, winning seven out of their last eight games, including a sweep over Upper Iowa their last time out.
Tori Richards and Hannah McCarville lead the Mavericks offense, hitting over .400 on the season. McCarville leads the Mavericks with 29 RBI's. The MSU offense features eight hitters with double-digit RBI's, led by McCarville. Sydney Nielson has seven home runs on the season, including a two home run game earlier this year against Winona State. The Mavericks have scored a whopping 174 runs on the season and have three games with more than 10 runs scored, including a 20-run output earlier this season against Wayne State College.
In the circle, the Mavericks might feature the future Pitcher of the Year in the NSIC in Mackenzie Ward. Ward is 14-3 on the season with a 1.05 ERA, with 12 complete games. Ward leads the conference by a wide margin with 185 strikeouts on the season. Katie Bracken and McKayla Armbruster each feature a sub three ERA and round out one of the best pitching staffs in the conference.
