CROOKSTON, Minn. - Combining for 28 hits over the course of two games, the University of Mary Softball team opened up the floodgates to kick off the final week of NSIC play with a convincing pair of wins against the University of Minnesota Crookston this afternoon.
 
The Marauders (16-28, 10-15 NSIC) jumped out to an early lead in game one and never looked back en route to an 11-6 win, and followed up with another outpouring of offense in a 9-3 win in game two to complete the sweep over the Golden Eagles (9-38, 3-25 NSIC).
 
GAME ONE
 
The power was only display in the top of the first inning as Demaree Rodriguez started the rally with a single to left field and was followed by a single through the left side from Amber Gamboa for runners at first and second with one out.
 
Taylor Mendez never had a chance to pad her home run total as she was plunked by the first pitch of the at bat, while Shawnee Zink proved to be a ball magnet as well after getting thwacked by a 2-2 pitch to bring the first run home for the Marauders.
 
Colleen Crutchfield, opting to score all runs at once rather than one-by-one, stepped up to the plate and smashed the 2-1 pitch from Mikayla Jones over the center field fence for her first career grand slam, give U-Mary a 5-0 lead before the Golden Eagles had their first at bats.
 
Jones settled down and forced back-to-back groundouts to end the inning, but the damage had already been done to give MeLanie Rodriguez a cushion to work with as she took to the circle for the start of game one.
 
Wheeling and dealing through three innings, MeLanie stymied the Golden Eagle hitters as she surrendered only one hit to keep the score at 5-0. It wasn't until the fourth inning when Minnesota Crookston finally broke through with a two-run home run from Gabriel Antolak to cut the lead down to 5-2, but U-Mary would get those runs back, and then some, in the top of the fifth.
 
Demaree got the rally started once again with her leadoff single through the left side, while Gamboa followed with a double to the right center gap for runners at second and third with nobody out. Zink got the first run of the inning across with her groundball single through the left side and Crutchfield followed suit with a single back up the middle for a 7-2 Marauder lead.
 
U-Mary got their eighth run of the game in the inning after a pitching change brought Sammy Knudson into the contest with a single to left field that drove in Zink for a 8-2 Marauder lead heading into the fifth.
 
Minnesota Crookston turned up the heat on MeLanie as Allison Foley singled to center field to score Jozie Garner, while Antolak skied a fly ball to center field to score Victoria Bayliss to cut the lead down to 8-4.
 
Alexis Khoshaba upped the ante for the Golden Eagles as she sailed the 1-0 pitch over the left field fence for a two-run shot that effectively put Minnesota Crookston back into the game at 8-6, but MeLanie buckled down to get the last out to keep the lead for U-Mary heading into the top of the sixth.
 
The Marauders went down in order in the top of the sixth while the Golden Eagles necessitated a pitching change after a Kristi Larson reached on a U-Mary miscue for runners at second and third with one out in the bottom half of the inning.
 
Brieann Backes picked up right where MeLanie left off as she struck out Garner and forced a fielder's choice groundball from Bayliss to end the inning, keeping the Marauders on top at 8-6 going into the final at bats.
 
Mendez gave the Marauders some insurance runs with her solo shot with one out in the top of the seventh, while Crutchfield one-upped her with a two-run blast to pad U-Mary's lead to 11-6 going into the bottom half of the inning.
 
Backes pitched a near-perfect seventh as she recorded the first out from the leadoff batter on a line drive to Kylie Alto, and after the brief hiccup of issuing a walk to Antolak, she forced a groundout and fly out to cement the score at 11-6.
 
Colleen Crutchfield finished with three hits in the contest, two home runs and a single, to go with seven RBI and two runs, while Shawnee Zink matched her hit total with three singles, two RBI and three runs.
 
Kylie Alto and Amber Gamboa each finished with a single and double, while Demaree Rodriguez added two singles to round out the multi-hit Marauders in the contest.
 
Taylor Mendez hit her team-leading 14th home run on the year to move into the top spot on U-Mary's career home run list, standing alone with 38 after the first half of the doubleheader.
 
MeLanie Rodriguez secured her seventh with of the year as she went 5.1 innings, struck out two and surrendered nine hits, while Brieann Backes pitched 1.2 scoreless innings without giving up a hit and striking out one.
 
GAME TWO
 
The second game started out as a pitcher's duel as U-Mary left three runners aboard in the first two innings while Minnesota Crookston eked out the first run on an RBI single from Sammy Kuhlow that scored Antolak, but the Marauder defense came up with an out as the relay from Lex Hubbard to Crutchfield to Alto retired Kuhlow advancing up to second.
 
U-Mary retook the lead in the top of the third as Alana Norman led off with a single to center field and Gamboa singled to right field for runners at first and second with one out. Mendez, after fouling off the first two pitches of the at bat from Bailey Braatz, brought everyone home with a three-run moonshot and a 3-1 Marauder lead going into the bottom of the third.
 
Taylor Lara, meanwhile, quickly found a groove as the starting pitcher for game two as held the Golden Eagles to two runs through 3.1 innings of work and got help from the offense in the top of the fourth from the home run derby on Demaree's two-run shot to center field and Zink matched her with a two-run jack for a commanding 7-1 Marauder lead.
 
Lara found herself in a jam in the bottom of the fourth as Minnesota Crookston loaded up the bases behind a barrage of singles and a hit batter while scoring one to cut the lead down to 7-2, dictating a pitching change that brought in Backes for her second relief appearance of the day.
 
Backes worked out of the situation after retiring Kaylin Beatty on three straight pitches and got the groundball from Garner to squelch any momentum the home team had. U-Mary's offense continued to work, though, as Alto scored on McDermott's single to center field in the top of the fifth, while Keegan Wickman scored on the sacrifice fly from Crutchfield in the top of the sixth for a 9-2 lead favoring the Marauders.
 
Minnesota Crookston had one last gasp in them as Antolak brought in Garner on a single to right field with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Backes got a pair of line drive outs from the final two batter to complete the sweep for U-Mary at 9-3, inching their way up the NSIC standings prior to the start of the conference tournament set for next week.
 
Alana Norman made her presence known with a trio of singles on the day to go with one stolen base and two runs scored in the second game. Alexandra McDermott joined her fellow slapper with a trio of singles to go with one RBI in the contest.
 
Taylor Mendez added another home run, and a double to boot, along with three RBI and two runs on the backend of the doubleheader, while Kylie Alto ended with a pair of singles, one stolen base and one run in the contest.
 
Taylor Lara gave up six hits in her 3.1 innings of work, while Brieann Backes notched her fifth win of the year after striking out five, issuing one walk and scattering two hits over 3.2 innings of work.
 
The Marauders will host a non-conference doubleheader tomorrow against Dickinson State University, with first pitch scheduled for 2 PM CDT.
 
#marauders#