LEESBURG, Fla. – The University of Minnesota Crookston softball team opened The Spring Games by earning a split Friday, March 10 at the Sleepy Hollow Complex in Leesburg, Fla. Saint Thomas Aquinas College picked up a 7-1 win in the first game. Minnesota Crookston rebounded by picking up the 8-0 run-rule victory over the College of Staten Island.
Minnesota Crookston sits at 7-11 after Friday's split. Saint Thomas Aquinas improved to 2-0 after Friday's game. Staten Island sits at 3-7.
Game One
The Spartans captured the momentum early as they scored seven runs in the first two innings. They were propelled by Eliana Raposo, who went 1-of-4, with two RBIs, and Abbie Landrum, who was 1-of-3 with two RBIs.
Landrum picked up the win in the circle. She went five innings, allowing one run, one six hits. She struck out six and walked one.
Evie Stuck (So., RHP, Papillion, Neb.) suffered the loss after allowing four earned runs, on five hits. She struck out one.
Alexa Guilford (Fr., LHP, Crystal City, Manitoba) pitched one inning, allowing no earned runs, on three hits.
Charlotte Dombrowski (Fr., RHP, Valparaiso, Ind.) came on and shut down Saint Thomas Aquinas the rest of the way. She pitched five innings, allowing no runs, on two hits. Dombrowski struck out three and walked two.
Dombrowski paced UMN Crookston at the plate, going 3-of-4.
Dana Zarn (Sr., 3B, Winnipeg, Manitoba) went 1-of-3, with a run scored.
Emilee Haggadone (Fr., C, Lincoln, Neb.) was 1-of-1 with an RBI.
The Spartans took the lead out of the gate in Friday morning's tilt. Brooke Biamonte singled in Adriana Coira to make it 1-0. Landrum then delivered a single, bringing home Biamonte, and Elysa Marcano. Saint Thomas Aquinas extended their lead to 4-0 when Sarah Williams scored on a wild pitch.
The Spartans pushed their lead to 6-0 with a two RBI single from Raposo, scoring Marcano, and Amanda Demmerle. Later in the stanza, Williams singled in Biamonte to make it 7-0.
The Golden Eagles were able to get a run back in the fourth with a single from Haggadone to plate Zarn. UMN Crookston loaded up the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but they were unable to runs across as the Spartans were able to win the meeting 7-1.
Game Two
The Golden Eagles were the aggressor in the second game, as they scored six runs in the opening two innings on their way to an 8-0 victory over the Dolphins.
Thayda Houser (Jr., RHP, Seymour, Iowa) was outstanding in the shutout in the circle. She went five innings, allowing just two hits. Houser was efficient, tossing just 43 pitches.
Minnesota Crookston was lifted in the win by a grand slam by
Kate Garcia (Fr., OF, Sylmar, Calif.), her first career home run as a Golden Eagle.
Whitnee Curry (So., IF, Lincoln, Neb.) went 2-of-3, with two RBIs, and a run scored.
Brittney Mengel (So., OF, Sullivan, Wis.) was 2-of-3, with a run scored.
Paige Shwaluk (Jr., MIF, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) finished 2-of-3, with an RBI, and a run scored.
The loss for Staten Island went to Alexis Miramontes, who allowed six runs, on six hits in 1.1 innings of work. Kelsey Strayer allowed two runs, on four hits in 3.2 innings.
The first four runs crossed in the top of the first with Garcia's blast over the fence in left center, driving in Mengel, Zarn, and Curry.
The Golden Eagles pushed their lead to 6-0 in the second when Curry hit a two RBI single, bringing home
Paige Shwaluk and
Reagan Emerick (Jr., MIF, Macomb, Ill.).
Minnesota Crookston extended their lead to 7-0 with a solo shot from Zarn, her first home run of the season.
The Golden Eagles capped off the run-rule affair with a single from
Paige Shwaluk, driving in
Gabriella Blomdahl (Sr., OF, Duluth, Minn.).
Minnesota Crookston continues action in Florida on Saturday, March 11. The Golden Eagles play Shepherd University at 1 p.m. C.T., and the University of Indianapolis at 4:30 p.m. C.T., at the PFX Legends Complex in Clermont, Fla.
