BISMARCK, N.D. - For the final home doubleheader of the regular season, the University of Mary Softball team took on the University of Minnesota Crookston to kick of the last week of conference games for U-Mary.
 
Both games had some scares, but the Marauders (24-27, 13-12 NSIC) proved to be a resilient team, as they held on to win the first game, 4-3, against the Golden Eagles (4-40, 0-26 NSIC) before bouncing back from a four-run deficit in the second game to win 13-9.
 
Minnesota Crookston got on the board first with an RBI double from Alexis Khoshaba in the top of the first inning, but Nena Dudley, who was getting her 33rd start in the circle, settled down to strike out the final batter of the inning with runners at first and second.
 
The Marauders were unable to get any runs back in the first or second inning, and the Golden Eagles were threatening to add more to their total in the top of the third when Shelby Hollinger led the inning of by reaching on an error by the second baseman. Hollinger stole second during Allison Foley's at bat and Foley herself reached on a single back up the middle, which put runners at the corners with nobody out.
 
Khoshaba drew a walk to load the bases to put the pressure on Dudley, but Nena responded well by forcing a popup from Josee Plante, struck out Kristi Larson, and forced a popup from Gabriel Antolak to end the scoring threat.
 
Now it was time for the Marauders to become the scoring threat, and it started with a two-out, solo home run from Taylor Mendez after fouling off seven straight pitches, only to send the eighth pitch over the left center field fence that tied the game at 1-1. Amber Gamboa drew a walk in the next at bat and U-Mary took advantage of a Minnesota Crookston miscue as Demaree Rodriguez laced a base hit to left field that was misplayed by the left fielder and allowed Gamboa to score all the way from first base, to put the score at 2-1 in favor of the Marauders.
 
Dudley finally settled into a groove starting in the fourth inning as she only allowed one base runner from the Golden Eagles in the top half of the inning, and U-Mary got some insurance runs in the bottom half when Keegan Wickman, who came in for Julissa Perales, got her first collegiate base hit with a single to right field. After Dudley reached on a fielder's choice in the next at bat, Erin Keen did her job by dropping a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position with one out.
 
Kristin Ormsby broke open the dam with a single back up the middle to score both Wickman and Dudley that put the score at 4-1 in favor of the Marauders, but that was all they could manage as Bailey Braatz, starting in the circle for Minnesota Crookston, forced a fielder's choice from Alana Norman that got Ormsby out and forced a groundball from Mendez to end the inning.
 
Both teams failed to score any runs in the fifth inning, and the Golden Eagles cut into U-Mary's lead in the top of the sixth when Foley laced a single down the left field line to score Jordyn Derflinger from third base, yet Dudley once again kept the damage to a minimum by striking out Khoshaba in the next at bat to end the inning.
 
The Marauders couldn't get any more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, and Minnesota Crookston made it an interesting game in the top of the seventh when Larson was hit by a pitch with one out in the inning to put a runner at first. Dudley struck out Antolak in the next at bat for the second out of the inning, but the Golden Eagles wouldn't go away quietly since Braatz drew a walk and Derflinger brought a run in with a single to right field to cut the Marauder lead down to 4-3 with two outs and runners at first and second.
 
Dudley finally said enough is enough as she struck out the last batter of the game, but they needed to be sure as the batter swung at a pitch in the dirt, so Gamboa had to secure the out by firing down to first base to make the score 4-3 final in the first game.
 
Mendez continued her hot streak with two hits, a single and home run, with one RBI, and one run scored.
 
Demaree Rodriguez also finished with two hits, both singles, and provided steady glove for U-Mary at second base.
 
Ormsby finished with one hit, but it proved crucial as she had two RBI and also drew a walk in the game.
 
Dudley failed to get a hit in the game, but was a bigger factor in the circle as she got her 16th complete game of the season to improve to 18-13 on the year with eight strikeouts, and only eight hits given up.
 
The second game of the day turned out to be more exciting as the Marauders had to dig themselves out of a four-run hole, midway through the game.
 
This time it was the Marauders that struck first as Colleen Crutchfield brought the power in the bottom of the second inning with a two-run blast over the left field fence to give U-Mary an early 2-0 lead. The Marauders got one more when Keen singled through the left side to score Dudley from second base, but was out trying to stretch her hit into a double. Heading into the third inning, U-Mary was sitting pretty with a 3-0 lead.
 
The Golden Eagles responded in the top of the third when Hollinger drove a base hit down the left field line to score two and cut the lead down to 3-2 heading into the bottom of the third, but the Marauders got one back when Demaree laced a double over the head of the left fielder to score Mendez from second base and extend the lead back out to 4-2.
 
Trouble started brewing in the top of the fourth when a pitch hit Kaylin Beatty with bases loaded, forcing a run home and cutting U-Mary's lead down to 4-3. The Golden Eagles opened up the floodgates in the top of the fifth when Hollinger reached on a dropped third strike to lead off the inning. Foley followed that up with a single through the left side to put runner at first and second, which forced MeLanie Rodriguez to come into the game in relief for Keen. Khoshaba kept the Golden Eagle rally going with a single to left field to load the bases up with nobody out.
 
Plante brought the first run of the inning across the plate with a swinging bunt of sorts that made it difficult for Ormsby to get a clean out anywhere on the bases and tied the game up at 4-4. Larson put Minnesota Crookston on top with a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Foley and advance the remaining runners to second and third with one out. Antolak brought home two more with a double to left field to make the score 7-4, and the inning was capped off when Beatty reached on an error that allowed Antolak to score and put U-Mary in an 8-4 hole, heading into the bottom of the fifth.
 
The lead wouldn't last long as Ormsby led the Marauder half of the fifth off with a solo shot down the left field line and forced the Golden Eagles to bring in Brooke Vatthauer into the game in relief for Derflinger. Vatthauer forced a fly out and a line out from the next two Marauders, but U-Mary has had big two-out rallies before and today was no different.
 
Gamboa started the rally off with a single to center field, followed up with a single from Demaree to put runners at first and second. Crutchfield brought everyone with one swing of her bat and she sent a shot over the left field fence to tie the game up at 8-8 with her second home run of the day.
 
The gas ran out on the Golden Eagles in the top of the sixth inning, but the Marauders kept the pedal to the floor in the bottom of the sixth when Dudley led the inning off with a single through the right side, stole second base, and advanced to third on a passed ball. Keen drew a walk in the next at bat and Ormsby narrowly missed out on her second home run of the day when her deep shot to left field hit off the top of the fence and stayed in play. Instead, she was left with a double and two RBI as U-Mary regained the lead at 10-8.
 
They weren't done as Norman advanced Ormsby to third base on a groundball to the pitcher and Mendez brought her in with a sacrifice fly to centerfield that put the score at 11-8. Gamboa started the rally back up with a double to right field and Demaree traded places with her on a double down the right field line that put the score at 12-8. Crutchfield capped her day off with a single back up the middle that scored Demaree and by the time the dust finally settled, U-Mary was holding onto a 13-8 lead heading into the top of the seventh.
 
The Golden Eagles had one last gasp as Larson led the inning off with a double to centerfield and eventually scored on a Bayliss short groundball to the pitcher that was essentially a swinging bunt as nobody was there to cover.
 
Of course the Marauders ended the game in brilliant fashion when the next batter sent a groundball to Ormsby at third base and U-Mary turned an unconventional 5-2-3 double play to end the game and make the score final at 13-9.
 
The Marauders had 15 hits as a team in the second game with five players recording multiple hits. Crutchfield led everybody with three hits, a single and two home runs, along with six RBI, and two runs scored.
 
Demaree also finished with three hits, a single and two doubles, with two RBI and three runs scored.
 
Ormsby finished with two hits, a double and home run, along with three RBI and two runs scored.
 
Gamboa had a double and single on the day to go with her two runs scored.
 
Mendez was the last of U-Mary players to record multiple hits as she finished with two singles, one RBI, and one run scored.
 
MeLanie earned the win as she pitched three solid innings in relief with only four hits given up.
 
The Marauders will head out on the road this weekend, starting with a visit to the University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, April 25, starting at 1 PM.
 
#marauders#