(Crookston, Minn.) – The University of Minnesota, Crookston Women's Softball team travels to Vadnais Heights, Minn. on Tuesday, February 28 and Wednesday, February 29 to play five non-conference games against NSIC opponents. The games will be held at the Vadnais Heights Dome.
 
The Golden Eagles open the regular season against Northern State University at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. UMC returns to the dome at noon to take on MSU Moorhead. On Wednesday, Minnesota, Crookston plays Minnesota Duluth at 9 a.m. UMC again returns to field at noon to play Bemidji State in a double-header with the second game starting immediately after (approx. 2 p.m.).
 
“We have eight newcomers this season with no seniors so we are an extremely young team this year,” says head coach Mitch Bakken. “The players have learned and adjusted to a tremendous amount of changes from high school, club and junior college softball to be able to compete at the DII level in the NSIC,” Bakken adds. “These first five games are going to be a measuring stick to see what we do well and what we need to work on to be competitive again this season.”
 
Following the Vadnais Heights games, the Golden Eagles travel to Cocoa Beach Spring Training in Titusville, Fla. for spring training from March 8-15. Minnesota, Crookston is currently scheduled to play nine games in Florida with two exhibition games. The NSIC season opens at home for UMC when the Golden Eagles host Winona State and Upper Iowa on March 24 & 25. Both games are scheduled for 1 p.m. If the weather does not permit the games to be played at UMC, the site will be flipped to Winona and Fayette, Iowa.
 
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.
 
The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).
 
 
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