Viera, Fla. – Minnesota Crookston softball saw both ends of the walk-off win on Saturday afternoon, as they saw St. Anselm score a pair of runs in the seventh for a 3-2 win, but then bounced back in a great way, walking off their opponent for the fourth time this season, beating Franklin Pierce in nine innings, 5-4.
Minnesota Crookston moves to 11-14, their best start through 25 games in program history.
Game One
Much like they did when they played the Hawks yesterday, the Golden Eagles would strike first with an
Irelyn Spencer (R-So., IF, Rapid City, S.D.) groundout, scoring
Madisen Yandle (Fr., SS, Lakeville, Minn.).
Haley Koch (Sr., C, Mondamin, Iowa) would drive in her first run of the weekend with an RBI double, scoring
Jocelyn Hernandez (Fr., OF, Tracy, Calif.) all the way from first, giving the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, St. Anselm would score a run, but were denied at home for the second out, keeping a one run lead heading into the sixth.
The Golden Eagles wouldn't score in the sixth or seventh inning and would see the Hawks use great base running in the bottom of the seventh, prevailing over the Golden Eagles for the second straight day.
Yandle and Koch each added two hits in the game. Yandle now has 11 hits and 10 runs scored through ten games for the Golden Eagles.
Despite picking up the loss,
Charlotte Dombrowski (Jr., P/OF, Valparaiso, Ind.) was fantastic, giving up just two earned runs on four hits, while striking out six batters, two shy of her career-high.
Game Two
Once again, the Golden Eagles would jump on an opponent. The Golden Eagles would use a groundout from
Hannah Trzinski (Fr., P/1B, Stevens Point, Wis.) to jump on the Franklin Pierce Ravens, 2-0, after the first inning.
Riley Blake (Fr., P/OF, Las Vegas, Nev.) would help herself out at the plate, driving in
Bryanna Decker (Fr., C/OF, Roseville, Calif.) for a 3-0 Golden Eagle advantage.
The Ravens would answer back and eventually tie things up in the top of the sixth.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Golden Eagles would load the bases with one out, but would be unable to bring a run across, so to the eighth we went.
Extra innings would be the MLB rule, meaning each team would have a runner at second to start the inning.
The Ravens would strike for a run in the top of the eighth, but Hernandez would answer back by driving in
Ruth Freiberg (Jr., OF, Hopkins, Minn.) to tie the game at four.
The Golden Eagles and
Alexa Guilford (Jr., P, Crystal City, Manitoba) would pitch a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth.
Trzinski would play hero for the second time this season, doubling in Yandle for the winning run, lacing a double to center field.
Chayse Doering (Fr., OF, Shakopee, Minn.) and Trzinski led the offensive attack for the Golden Eagles, each finishing with two hits.
Blake was fantastic once again in the circle, giving up three earned runs in five innings.
Evie Stuck (Sr., P/OF, Papillion, Neb.) was outstanding in her inning of relief and Guilford earned her third win of the season.
What's Next
The Golden Eagles will wrap-up their fun in the sun tomorrow afternoon for a pair of games against Southern Connecticut State and UT Dallas.
