UMC Softball splits road doubleheader at Bemidji State

The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles softball team won Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Bemidji State, 4-2, before losing Game 2 in five innings by a score of 9-1.

GAME ONE –

FIRST INNING
UMC had a few runners reach base in the top of the first. Whitnee Curry (SR, Lincoln, NE) singled up the middle and made it to second on a wild pitch. Riley Blake (FR, Las Vegas, NV) made it on a throwing error and Emilee Haggadone (JR, Lincoln, NE) reached base on a fielder’s choice. None of them were brought home in the inning. Blake was out at home and two UMC strikeouts send the Golden Eagles to the dugout empty. Bemidji State was unable to get any offense going, so the score was 0-0 after the first.

SECOND INNING
The Golden Eagles were retired by two strikeouts and a foul out. The Beavers had two hits and a walk in the inning, but all three runners were left on base to keep it knotted at 0.

THIRD INNING
Chayse Doering (FR, Shakopee, MN) doubled after working a full count, but she was retired alongside Riley Blake on a double play at the next at bat. A looking strikeout then ended the top of the inning. Bemidji State, again, had little success in the third. Their only source of offense came from a walk, and the score stayed 0-0.

FOURTH INNING
UMC started the inning with walks from Haggadone and Rayna French (SO, La Salle, MB). Following a pitching change by the Beavers, Irelyn Spencer (R-SO, Rapid City, SD) reached on a fielder’s choice. Spencer would steal second before a Bryanna Decker (FR, Roseville, CA) triple scored her and French to give UMC a 2-0 lead. The next two UMC batters struck out, leaving Decker on base. Bemidji State answered with a run of their own, as an RBI-single to right field from Alayna DeGraef scored Molly Houts. Houts worked her way around the bases after she was hit by a pitch early in the half-inning. A ground out ended the fourth with UMC up 2-1.

FIFTH INNING
UMC got two on base early after Doering was hit by a pitch and Blake singled. Bemidji State would change pitchers again, and moments later, a bunt from Curry loaded the bases. Doering was the only one to score, as she was brought home by an RBI-groundout from Haggadone to make it 3-1. Bemidji state could not answer, so the Golden Eagles took their 2 run lead into the 6th.

SIXTH INNING
The Golden Eagles were retired 1-2-3. The Beavers were able to claw back into the game on an RBI-single with one out. The run was scored by Maddie Kielsmeier, who came home on a single from Avery Amidon. The next two Beaver batters grounded out, leaving the score at 3-2.

SEVENTH INNING
Chayse Doering had. another solid inning, recording a double and a run from a Rayna French single to make it 4-2. In the bottom of the inning, Bemidji State grounded out three times to end it and give UMC the Game 1 victory.

For UMC-
Whitnee Curry – 2 for 4
Chayse Doering – 2 for 2
Riley Blake – 1 for 4
Rayna French – 1 for 3, 1 RBI
Bryanna Decker – 1 for 3, 2 RBI

GAME TWO –  

FIRST INNING
UMC carried some of their momentum into the start of Game 2, as Whitnee Curry and Reyna French made it on base. With 2 outs, Irelyn Spencer singled to centerfield, but Curry was forced out at home to stop the top of the inning. After Alexa Guilford (JR, Crystal City, MB) pitched the entirety of Game 1, UMC turned to Delaney Pinner (FR, Winkler, MB) in the circle for Game 2. She struck out the first batter she faced. The next two Bemidji State batters were also retired, one from batter’s interference and another on a flyout.

SECOND INNING
The Golden Eagles saw their first two batters get out, but tides started to turn when Gabrielle Gomez (FR, Lakewood, CA) was walked. Chayse Doering would single, but the half inning would end on a fielder’s choice moments later. The Beavers got their first hit of the game from Houts, who singled to the left. She would score moments later on an Aubrey Aukerman single and a fielding error to make it 1-0 with one out. The next two batters would be retired to keep Bemidji State up a run.

THIRD INNING
Curry would make it all the way to 3rd for UMC, but not before the next three Golden Eagle batters struck out. Bemidji State, on the other hand, would improve on their lead, seeing three straight RBI’s with just one out on the board. Now down by 4, UMC then put Charlotte Dombrowski (JR, Valparaiso, IN) in at pitcher. The Beavers made it 5-0 after another runner scored on a wild pitch, which would open all the bases. Dombrowski bounced back with a strikeout, and a groundout would stop the inning.

FOURTH INNING
Hits from Decker, Haley Koch (SR, Mondamin, IA), and Gomez would get UMC on the right track, as Decker scored the first Golden Eagle run of the day on the Gomez hit. That would be followed by three outs, with two Golden Eagles left on base. The Beavers responded with three hits and another run to make it 6-1. Dombrowski struck out the next batter to record the inning’s final out.

FIFTH INNING
UMC was retired 1-2-3 in the top of the 5th. Bemidji State would continue to roll, with a throwing error scoring another Beaver. Two more runs were scored off of right side doubles, which gave Bemidji state a 9-1 lead and the necessary eight run advantage to call the game in the 5th inning.

The Golden Eagles now have a 15-26 record. They’ll have a couple of days off leading into a weekend doubleheader with Augustana University in Sioux Falls.

For UMC-
Whitnee Curry – 2 for 3
Irelyn Spencer – 1 for 3
Bryanna Decker – 1 for 2, 1 run
Haley Koch – 1 for 2
Gabrielle Gomez – 1 for 1, 1 RBI
Chayse Doering – 1 for 2

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