St. Joseph, Minn. – Another week, another Minnesota Crookston softball series affected by weather. Minnesota Crookston will play Minot State on Thursday in St. Joseph, Minn. The Golden Eagles and Beavers will meet for the fourth and fifth times this season.
 
How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston @ Minot State
10 AM / 12 PM
St. Joseph, Minn. / CSB Softball Field (College of Saint Benedict)
Live Stats -- https://msubeavers.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Watch Live -- https://vcloud.blueframetech.com/broadcast/embed/376119?w=640
 
 
Minnesota Crookston (13-28)
The Golden Eagle offense is on pace to have their best team batting average since 2016, when they hit .280. Minnesota Crookston is hitting .269 as a team and has a .729 OPS. A big part of the success on offense has been the duo of Alina Avalos (Jr., IF, Riverside, Calif.) and Jordan Peterson (R-Sr., UT, Lakeville, Minn.). Avalos is hitting .360 with an OPS close to 1.000 and has 13 doubles and 28 RBI, leading the Golden Eagles in all four categories. Peterson is hitting .356 in 30 starts and has 11 extra base-hits this season. Dana Zarn (Jr., UT, Winnipeg, Manitoba) has upped her average over .300 in recent games. Zarn has a hit in six out her last seven games, including a pair of two-hit games and a season-high three hits in the win over Concordia-St. Paul. Newcomers Sydney Huwe (Fr., UT, Carver, Minn.), Jenna Parfeniuk (R-So., 1B/P, Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Whitnee Curry (Fr., UT, Lincoln, Neb.).
 
In the circle, Evie Stuck (Fr., P/OF, Papillion, Neb.) and Thayda Houser (So., P, Seymour, Iowa) have combined to make 32 starts, led by Stuck's 18 starts in the circle. Stuck is 7-12 in 106 innings pitched, giving up just 76 earned runs with 57 strikeouts. Houser is 5-9 on the season and has struck out 54 hitters in over 69 innings of work.
 
Minot State University (26-10)
Minot State is on pace to have one of their best seasons in their Division II era. So far, the Beavers are 26-10 and have beaten the Golden Eagles three times, all in Minot. The school record for wins at Minot State is 41, when Minot State went 41-11 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first and only time in school history.
 
Offensively, the Beavers are talented. Minot State has a team average of .328 and has five hitters over the .300 mark, including Jamie Odlum, who is second in the NSIC with a .504 batting average and third with a 1.331 OPS. Odlum also has 34 RBI, which leads Minot State. Brooklyn Morrison leads her team with five home runs and 26 runs batted in. Jazmin Karanungan and Kiera Shwaluk are both hitting above .385 and have combined for 37 stolen bases in 42 attempts. The Beavers have outscored their opponents by a whopping 96 runs this season.
 
To go along with a strong offense, the Beavers have very good pitching as well. Trinity Valentine leads the pitching staff with an 11-5 record in 15 starts and a 2.16 ERA. Jasmine Blizzard and Reegan Floyd are also very good, combining for 13 wins in 20 starts and have struck out 108 hitters between the two. Valentine is a senior, while Blizzard and Floyd are a sophomore and freshman, respectively. The pitching staff is set up for success for the future with the underclassmen pitching well in big moments.