Crookston, Minn. – After a six game home stand, Minnesota Crookston softball will be back on the road this weekend for a pair of doubleheaders in the great state of North Dakota. Minnesota Crookston will head to the Magic City for a pair with Minot State on Saturday and two more at the University of Mary on Sunday.
 
The Golden Eagles are coming off a split in a midweek doubleheader against the Beavers of Bemidji State, including a nice bounce back, one-run victory in game two, 6-5.
 
How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston @ Minot State
Sat., April 20
11 A.M. / 1 P.M.
Live Stats -- https://msubeavers.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/
 
Minnesota Crookston @ University of Mary
Sunday, April 21
12 / 2 P.M.
Live Stats -- https://goumary.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/goumary/
 
Minnesota Crookston (12-32, 5-15 NSIC)
If the Golden Eagles are able to get two wins this weekend, they will have set the school record for most conference wins in a season, surpassing last season's record of six wins in the NSIC. It's a big weekend for the Golden Eagles, who are 12^th in the NSIC, but can move up in the standings as the season enters its final stages.
 
The Golden Eagles have relied on Shaelyn Grant (Sr., C/OF, Grand Junction, Colo.) for power throughout her career. The senior hit a pair of home runs last weekend in the sweep of Wayne State College, putting her past Mika Rodriguez for the school record with 10 long balls in a season and is one away from breaking the program record in a career, currently sitting with 20 home runs in her career.
 
Whitnee Curry (Jr., MIF, Lincoln, Neb.) has been outstanding this year at the dish, hitting .342 on the year and is eight hits away from a career-high in a season. After starting 46 games last season, Curry has missed just two games and has been reliable on the dirt for the Golden Eagles. Paige Shwaluk (Sr., MIF, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) had two hits in the win against Bemidji State and has 11 multi-hit games on the year. Rayna French (Fr., C, La Salle, Manitoba) had the big swing for the Golden Eagles in game two, hitting her second home run of the season, to help the Golden Eagles gain some separation. Reagan Emerick (R-Jr., MIF, Macomb, Ill.) slid into the three-spot for the first time in her Golden Eagle career and was 3-5 in the doubleheader with the Beavers.
 
The Golden Eagles have been led in the circle by a southpaw. Alexa Guilford (So., P, Crystal City, Manitoba) has made just five starts this season, but has made 26 appearances and is 4-5 on the year with a 3.64 ERA. Thayda Houser (Sr., P, Seymour, Iowa) has started 16 games in her final season and has a 4.31 ERA in 86 innings of work. The Golden Eagles have a team ERA of 6.36 in the circle.
 
Minot State (18-13, 13-5 NSIC)
The Beavers have had a fantastic season in the Northern Sun and sit in fourth place in the NSIC with a 13-5 record in the conference. MSU has some really nice conference wins this year, including a sweep against Concordia-St. Paul and a split with Winona State on Sunday. The Beavers are coming off of a loss to Division I North Dakota and play MSUM in a doubleheader on Thursday.
 
Minot State hits .282 as a team and Brooklyn Morrison is a big part of that. The senior who wears No. 66 for the Beavers, is hitting .370 on the season with an OPS of over 1.000. Morrison leads her team with 20 runs. Lauryn DeGuzman and Abby Lohse are also hitting over .300 on the season. No Beaver position player has played in every game this season. Taryn Bennett has played in 22 games, but leads her squad in doubles and RBI this season.
 
The Beavers have a fantastic pitching staff. The Beavers are top-five in the NSIC with an ERA of 3.16 and have six shutouts as a staff this season. Gabi Dawyduk and Reegan Floyd have combined for 24 starts and each have an ERA of less than 3.00. The upperclassmen have 15 complete games on the season. Dawyduk and Floyd don't miss a ton of bats, however, as they have combined for just 63 strikeouts in more than 140 innings of work.
 
University of Mary (9-31, 2-16 NSIC)
The Marauders have struggled this season and have just two wins in the NSIC, but those two wins came on Wednesday afternoon on the road at Northern State. The Golden Eagles and UMARY did not meet last season, but the Golden Eagles are 3-2 in the last five games in the series.
 
Offensively, UMARY hits .240 as a team and allows their opponents to hit over .360 on the year. Janelle Bergmann and Francesca Villaneda lead the Marauders in hitting with a .337 and .307 average, respectively. Mckenzie Reinhardt and Emily Schommer have led the way in the power department, as both have hit two home runs apiece, this season. Opponents have stolen 64 more bases this season than the Marauders.
 
In the circle, Hannah Chambers, Arria Johnson and Nicole Eckhardt have eaten up more than half the innings this season. The trio have combined to make 30 starts on the season, while Emari Evans has made eight starts. Chambers leads the staff with a 5.36 ERA, while Johnson and Eckhardt have a 6.00 and 6.43 ERA on the season. As a staff, the Marauders have struck out just 81 hitters in exactly 240 innings pitched.