Crookston, Minn. – Minnesota Crookston softball opened up the home portion of their schedule this past Sunday and split with Minnesota State, coming back from 10 runs down for a 16-13 win and falling in game two, 7-0.
 
The win over the Mavericks was the first one in program history for the maroon and gold.
 
The Golden Eagles are back at home this week for a midweek doubleheader against Minot State on Wednesday. The Beavers will make the trek East on Highway-2 having won five out of the last six games against Minnesota Crookston.
 
How to Follow
Minot State @ Minnesota Crookston
Wed., April 19
12 / 2 P.M.
Crookston, Minn. / UMC Softball Field
Live Stats -- https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
 
Minnesota Crookston (14-23, 2-10 NSIC)
The Golden Eagles came back from their largest deficit in many years in game one on Sunday, trailing by 10 runs, before coming back and scoring a whopping 16 unanswered runs against the Mavericks on Sunday.
 
Alina Avalos (Sr., IF, Riverside, Calif.) continues to lead the Golden Eagles, hitting .410 on the season with 12 extra base-hits and 33 runs knocked in. Whitnee Curry (So., IF/OF, Lincoln, Neb.) has been white hot at the plate, going 6-11 in her last three games, including collecting the only Golden Eagle hits in game two against MSU on Sunday. Dana Zarn (Sr., IF, Winnipeg, Manitoba) slugged her team-tying fifth home run in the win. Maddie Shwaluk (Jr., OF, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) hit her first career grand slam on Sunday, propelling the Golden Eagle comeback. Shwaluk now has 13 RBI on the season.
 
Thayda Houser (Jr., P, Seymour, Iowa) has a 4.76 ERA and leads the Golden Eagles in wins with six in 14 appearances. The junior came in and slammed the door on the Mavericks on Sunday, earning her second save of the season. Charlotte Dombrowski (Fr., P/OF, Valparaiso, Ind.) and Evie Stuck (So., P/OF, Papillion, Neb.) have combined to start 20 games and will be relied upon down the stretch for the Golden Eagles.
 
Minot State (22-16, 9-7 NSIC)
The Beavers are 2-2 in their last four games and have won five out of their last six games against Minnesota Crookston heading into the midweek doubleheader with the Golden Eagles. This weekend will be the sixth straight game on the road for Minot State.
 
Minot State carries an offense that is seventh in the NSIC with a .295 average. Minot State plays small ball to manufacture their runs, as they have hit just nine home runs on the season, ranking 13^th in the conference. Minot State has four hitters hitting over .300 on the season, led by Paige Kellogg and Gabi Dawyduk, who are hitting .360 and .354, respectively. Leo Watson is hitting .330 and has ten doubles, while Taryn Bennett is hitting .298 and leads the Beavers with 11 doubles. Brooklyn Morrison has 28 runs knocked in, which leads her team by a wide margin.
 
The Beavers have a pitching staff that ranks in the top half of the NSIC. In fact, the Beavers are ranked at exactly eighth with a 4.28 earned run average. Reegan Floyd has appeared in 19 games and is 7-9 with 16 starts. Floyd has 72 strikeouts in 80.1 innings of work, both of which lead the Beavers. Kierra Fournier is 3-6 on the season in 13 starts with a 5.47 ERA. Calley Olson has proved to be valuable in relief. The freshman from Bloomer, Wis., is 10-1 on the season in only five starts.