Mankato, Minn. – On the road once again for Golden Eagle softball this weekend. The maroon and gold will head down to Mankato to play both Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul in the Maverick All-Sports Dome. The Golden Eagles will play the Mavericks on Friday and the Golden Bears on Saturday.
How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston @ Minnesota State
Friday, April 15
11 AM / 1 PM
Mankato, Minn. / Maverick All-Sports Dome
Live Stats -- https://msumavericks.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/msumavericks/
Minnesota Crookston @ Concordia-St. Paul
Saturday, April 16
11:30 AM / 1:30 PM
Mankato, Minn. / Maverick All-Sports Dome
Live Stats -- https://msumavericks.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/msumavericks/
Minnesota Crookston (12-23, 3-7 NSIC)
Minnesota Crookston will look to end an eight-game losing streak, all of which have come on the road. In their eight-game losing streak, the Golden Eagles have given up double-digit runs in four of those games.
Offensively,
Alina Avalos (Jr., IF, Riverside, Calif.) and
Jordan Peterson (R-Sr., UT, Lakeville, Minn.) lead the charge. Avalos is hitting .373 on the season, while Peterson is hitting .367, with an OPS of .947. The duo has combined for 20 doubles and six home runs and 42 runs batted in. Avalos leads the Golden Eagles with 64 total bases in 36 starts.
Dana Zarn (Jr., UT, Winnipeg, Manitoba) has continued to raise her average over the last couple of weeks. The junior has a hit in four-straight games, including a pair of hits in three of those games. Zarn is now hitting .296 with an OPS of over 1.000.
Shaelyn Grant (So., C/OF, Grand Junction, Colo.) and
Sydney Huwe (Fr., UT, Carver, Minn.) are both hitting over .290 this season as well.
In the circle,
Thayda Houser (So., P, Seymour, Iowa) and
Evie Stuck (Fr., P/OF, Papillion, Neb.) have combined to make 29 starts on the season and 11 of the Golden Eagles 12 wins. The duo have combined for 14 complete games on the season, led by the 10 from Stuck. Houser leads the staff with a 5.08 ERA on the season.
Minnesota State (28-10)
The Mavericks are a perennial power in the NSIC and they have continued that with a 28-10 record through 38 games. The 2017 National Champions look to be in the mix for their second in 2022.
Ellie Tallman leads an offense with a .417 average and a 1.016 OPS, with four extra base-hits and 10 RBI. The Mavericks have four other hitters above the .300 mark, including the trio of Sydney Nielsen, Cheyenne Behrends and Madi Newman, who have combined for 14 home runs. Sophomore Kylie Sullivan is pretty good in her own right, hitting .333 on the season with three home runs.
Mackenzie Ward leads a really, really good pitching staff. The Illinois native is 19-3 with a .81 ERA and has 202 strikeouts in 137.2 innings of work. The senior has given up just 16 earned runs on the season. It's a safe bet that she might be the NSIC Pitcher of the Year by season's end. Katie Bracken and McKayla Armbruster are also solid and they help a staff that has a 1.79 ERA on the season, one of the best in the NSIC.
Concordia-St. Paul (23-8-1)
The Golden Bears have had a very good season, including a win over nationally-ranked Augustana earlier this season. CSP will look to bounce back after getting swept on Sunday against Minnesota Duluth, in Duluth.
The Golden Bears can hit the ball over the fence. CSP has hit 26 home runs as a team this season, including eight off the bat of Clara Heislen, who is also second on the team with 23 RBI. Grace Beseman has five home runs, while Alexus Houston and Sydney Pelzer have hit four home runs each. Amanda Parsons is hitting .457 on the season, with an OPS of 1.193 and 23 RBI. The Golden Bears have scored more than ten runs three times this season.
Bryanna Olson and Erica McCullough have spun the ball really well for the Golden Bears this season. Olson, a sophomore and McCullough, a freshman has combined to make 28 starts on the season and 19 wins between the two of them. Olson leads the staff in ERA, wins, appearances, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts this season. The Cottage Grove, Minn., native also has five saves on the season.
