Springfield, Mo. – It will be a long time on the road for Golden Eagle softball, starting this weekend when they head back down South to Springfield, Mo., for five games starting on Friday. When the Golden Eagles leave for Missouri on Thursday, they won't see Crookston for a while, as they will head to Florida right after for 10 non-conference games in the Sunshine State.
 
Minnesota Crookston will look to halt a six game losing streak this weekend. The Golden Eagles will open with Central Oklahoma, a program who finished ranked fourth in the nation last season and won the National Championship in 2013.
 
How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston vs Central Oklahoma
Friday, March 1
Time – 9:30 A.M.
 
Minnesota Crookston @ Drury University
Friday, March 1
Time – 11:30 A.M.
 
Minnesota Crookston vs Missouri S & T
Sat., March 2
9:30 A.M.
 
Minnesota Crookston vs Evangel University
Sat., March 2
2 P.M.
 
Minnesota Duluth vs Minnesota Duluth
Sun., March 3
9 A.M.
 
Minnesota Crookston (2-7)
Offensively, Minnesota Crookston has a .255 team batting average and have been led by the outstanding hitting through nine games by Shaelyn Grant (Sr., C/OF, Grand Junction, Colo.). Grant is hitting .464 with four home runs and 11 runs knocked in. Rayna French (Fr., C, La Salle, Manitoba) has also been really good to start her Golden Eagle career, hitting .355 with five RBI. Paige Shwaluk (Sr., MIF, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) has scored six runs on the season, which is second on the Golden Eagles, behind Grant. As a team, the Golden Eagles have struck out just 43 times, which is near the top half of the Northern Sun.
 
In the circle, Alexa Guilford (So., P, Crystal City, Manitoba) leads the Golden Eagles with seven appearances on the season and has a 2.33 ERA in 15 innings of work. Three pitchers have started in more than two games; Thayda Houser (Sr., P, Seymour, Iowa), Evie Stuck (Jr., P, Papillion, Neb.) and Gracelynn Kelly (So., P, Black Hawk, S.D.) have combined for seven of the nine starts on the season. The Golden Eagles have a 4.86 ERA as a team on the season.
 
Central Oklahoma (7-5)
The Bronchos are a traditional power, including a National Championship a decade ago. Their head coach, Cody White, is in his 11^th season at the helm of UCO and was an assistant in 2013 when the Bronchos defeated Kutztown to win their first ever National Championship.
 
UCO has a rock-solid offense, as they hit nearly .300 as a team. Jacee Minter paces an offense that hits .296 on the team, as she is averaging .424 on the season with five home runs and 17 runs knocked in. Minter is 15^th in the nation with her 5 home runs. Rylee Lemos, McKenna Johnson, Emily Deramus and Terin Ritz have each made 12 starts and are hitting at or above .300 on the season. As a team, UCO has 15 long balls on the season.
 
The Bronchos also have a really, really strong pitching staff. Ritz and Jordyn Pipkin have combined for 12 starts and each have ERA's of less than 3.00. The Bronchos can throw five arms at opponents that will get the job done.
 
Drury (6-7)
The Panthers are 6-7 on the season, but will head into their own tournament playing outstanding, winning four of their last five games and six of their last nine games. These two teams met a season ago in which the Panthers won 4-1.
 
The Panthers are another strong offense that the Golden Eagles will have to navigate this weekend. Drury hits .299 as a team and are led by Maggie McKee, who is hitting .440 on the season with a pair of doubles and seven RBI. Junior Brooklyn LaChappa leads her team with 14 runs knocked in on the season.
 
In the circle, the Panthers have been led by Bailee Nixon, who is 4-0 on the season with eight appearances and has a .44 ERA. AJ Agers and Kristina Bettis have combined to make 11 starts and have 30 strikeouts in 51 innings between the two. As a team, the Panthers have an ERA of 4.03 on the season.
 
Missouri S & T (7-11)
The Miners have been pretty consistent as of late in their last six games, going 3-3 through that stretch. They have a doubleheader at Rogers State, winners of the 2022 National Championship, on Thursday. It's been a long time since these two programs have met. The Miners and Golden Eagles last met in a doubleheader in 2006, a sweep for Missouri S & T.
 
Bryn Wooldridge leads her team in hitting with a .423 average and 14 runs knocked in. The senior also has six doubles on the season. Sydney Anderson and Ty Neal have five and four doubles, respectively, on the season. Alyssa Haile has five stolen bases on the season.
 
In the circle, Wooldridge has also led the Miners with seven starts and is 3-4 on the season with a 5.86 ERA. Wooldridge and graduate transfer Charlye Rowland have combined for 90 strikeouts on the season, led by Rowland's 46 on the season. Mayce Barber has started four games on the season and has a 6.59 ERA.
 
Evangel University (4-2)
The Valor's got off to a great start on the season, starting 4-0 on the season, but fell in a doubleheader to Cottey College last Saturday. Minnesota Crookston won the only meeting between these two squads a season ago, 11-6.
 
Offensively, Daizie Riggs is hitting .400 on the season, with three home runs and nine RBI on the season. Kenna Mayfield leads the Valor in hitting with a .455 average and has a double and a triple on the season and three RBI. Karlie Romines is also hitting .400 and has two home runs. As a team, Evangel hits .289 as a team on the season.
 
As a pitching staff, the Valor have a team RBI of 5.00 on the season. Maddie Meierer is 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA on the season and is second on the staff with eight strikeouts on the season. Madi Bemtley and Ashland Diggs each have made two starts on the season.
 
Minnesota Duluth (7-2)
Once again, the Bulldogs appear to have another really good team this season. The NSIC foe has won seven of their first nine games, with their only two blemishes coming to Wayne State (Mich.) and No. 5 Grand Valley State.
 
The Bulldogs have an offense that hits .285 as a team and has four hitters that are hitting over .300 on the season, led by Julia Gronholz, who is hitting an absurd .462 with six RBI. Elle Potts leads the Bulldogs with seven RBI on the season.
 
Once again, the Bulldog pitching staff will be anchored by Lauren Dixon. Dixon is one of the best pitchers in the Northern Sun and has a 4-1 record in five starts and has 59 strikeouts in 35 innings of work. The senior struck out 16 hitters earlier this year against Upper Iowa.