Duluth, Minn. – Minnesota Crookston softball will head back on the road Wednesday afternoon for their fifth and sixth straight games away from the friendly confines of Crookston. The record-setting Golden Eagles will head to Duluth for a doubleheader with Minnesota Duluth, one of the top teams in the Northern Sun.
 
How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston @ Minnesota Duluth
Wednesday, April 25
1 / 3 P.M.
Duluth, Minn. / Junction Avenue Field
Live Stats -- http://www.sidearmstats.com/umd/softball/xlive.htm
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/umdbulldogs/
 
Minnesota Crookston (16-27, 4-14)
With a split last weekend against Wayne State College, their third straight split in doubleheaders, the Golden Eagles set a school record for wins in a season with 16.
 
The Golden Eagles have eight hitters this season with more than 10 runs knocked in, which would be the most by a Golden Eagle team in school history. Reagan Emerick (R-So., MIF, Macomb, Ill.) is on the verge of being number nine, as she has seven runs knocked in on the season. Alina Avalos (Sr., IF, Riverside, Calif.) leads the way with a .368 average and 35 runs knocked in. Whitnee Curry (So., IF/OF, Lincoln, Neb.) and Dana Zarn (Sr., IF, Winnipeg, Manitoba) each have 22 RBI, while Shaelyn Grant (Jr., C/OF, Grand Junction, Colo.) has 20. Paige Shwaluk (Jr., MIF, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) has 33 runs scored and is second with 40 hits on the year. Shwaluk is tied for second with 16 stolen bases on the season.
 
Thayda Houser (Jr., P, Seymour, Iowa) has led the way in the circle for the maroon and gold. Houser is 6-6 on the season, leading the team in wins. The junior has 67.2 innings pitched and leads the way with 48 strikeouts. Evie Stuck (So., P/OF, Papillion, Neb.) has been relied upon a ton this season with 25 appearances on the year and 16 starts. Six different pitchers have logged double-digit innings this season.
 
Minnesota Duluth (31-8, 17-3)
The Bulldogs are another perennial power that the Golden Eagles will face for the second straight doubleheader. UMD sits in a tie for first place with Augustana and have won seven games in a row, including a sweep against Sioux Falls on Sunday.
 
The Bulldogs have three hitters on the season with five home runs; Sidney Zavoral, Kat Burkhardt and Corrie Weise. Burkhardt leads the way with 30 runs knocked in, while a whopping six hitters have 20 or more runs knocked in on the season. Nicole Schmidt is hitting .364 on the season and has scored 24 runs. UMD has scored double-digit runs in nine games this season.
 
Undoubtedly, the Bulldogs win with their pitching staff, boasting the best pitching staff in the NSIC, by a wide margin. The Bulldogs have a 1.48 team ERA, which ranks sixth in the entire nation. Lauren Dixon is 14-3 on the season with a 1.13 ERA and has struck out a whopping 163 hitters, 22^nd in all of division II. Mady Stariha is 7-2 in 17 starts, while Allyssa Williams has made 16 appearances, 15 out of the bullpen and is 5-2. The pitching for the Bulldogs makes them one of the best teams in the entire nation.