Sioux Falls, S.D. – Minnesota Crookston softball travelled to Sioux Falls on Saturday to take on the University of Sioux Falls in a site reversal game, where the Golden Eagles were the home team for both games.
Game one was a thriller that saw a ton of offense and a pair of extra innings. The Cougars were able to strike for two runs with two outs in the ninth for a 10-8 game one win.
In game two, the Golden Eagles would take an early lead and shut down the Cougars, earning a 6-4 victory and their first NSIC win of the season.
With the split, Minnesota Crookston moves to 8-22 (1-5 NSIC).
Game One
The Cougars would strike first in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly.
Minnesota Crookston wouldn't take long to answer.
Maddie Shwaluk (Sr., OF, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) would double in
Haley Koch (Jr., C, Mondamin, Iowa) to tie things up at one. Two batters later,
Whitnee Curry (Jr., MIF/OF, Lincoln, Neb.) singled in
Maddie Shwaluk for a 2-1 lead.
Paige Shwaluk (Sr., MIF, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) would later come in to score on a passed ball.
USF would later answer with four straight runs in the fourth inning to regain control of the game and take a 6-3 lead.
The middle part of the order for the Golden Eagles would come through in the fifth. The Golden Eagles would go back-to-back, as
Rayna French (Fr., C, La Salle, Manitoba) would hit a two-run home run, the first of her career and
Shaelyn Grant (Sr., C/OF, Grand Junction, Colo.) would hit her seventh home run of the season to tie things up at six.
The Golden Eagles would pitch a scoreless top of the sixth inning and then regain a one run lead with an RBI single from Curry.
Down to their final out, the Cougars would tie the game up at eight and they would then shut down the Golden Eagles in the bottom of the seventh, so we would head to extras.
USF would take a lead in the top half of the inning, but
Irelyn Spencer (So., MIF, Rapid City, S.D.) would score the tying run in the eighth.
With the bases loaded, USF would scrape across a pair of runs in the top of the ninth for a 10-8 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, the Golden Eagles would get the tying run to the plate, but would go scoreless, falling in game one.
The Golden Eagles finished with 12 hits in the game, tying the second most in a game this season.
Curry was outstanding at the dish, going 5-5 with a pair of runs knocked in and a double, a career-high for Curry with five hits.
Maddie Shwaluk was 2-5 in the game with a pair of runs scored and an RBI. French finished with three RBI in the game.
In the circle,
Evie Stuck (Jr., P, Papillion, Neb.) would go 8.2 innings and give up seven earned runs on 12 hits.
Alexa Guilford (So., P, Crystal City, Manitoba) picked up the loss in the game, giving up the go-ahead hit in 0.1 inning of work.
Game Two
Game two would see a similar start to the opening game. USF would strike for a pair of runs in the top of the first as Damaris Cuevas would double in a pair for a 2-0 lead.
Once again, the Golden Eagles would answer with a run in the bottom of the first, as French would drive in a run on a fielder's choice.
Paige Shwaluk would give the Golden Eagles the lead for good as she would triple in
Sophie Juntunen (So., 1B, St. Michael, Minn.) and
Emerson Thompson (R-So., C, Lincoln, Neb.) for a 3-2 lead.
French would then single in
Paige Shwaluk to double the lead, making it 4-2 in favor of the maroon and gold. Following the French single, Grant would go deep for the second straight game and her eighth of the season, making it 6-2 Golden Eagles.
The Cougars would score twice more, but it wouldn't be enough, as the Golden Eagles would earn the split with a 6-4 win.
Paige Shwaluk had yet another multi-hit game, her seventh of the season, going 2-4 with a pair of runs scored and two RBI. Koch also went 2-4 on the day. French and Grant each drove in a pair of runs.
Thayda Houser earned her second win of the season, giving up four earned runs on 10 hits, while striking out four. Guilford earned her first career save, shutting down the Cougars for two innings.
What's Next
Minnesota Crookston is scheduled to open up the home portion of their schedule on Tuesday afternoon, as they host St. Cloud State for a doubleheader, starting at 2 p.m., from Crookston.
