MINNEAPOLIS --- Crown Softball started their season this weekend facing Loras, Northland, and the home-team Augsburg in the Auggie Dome. After falling twice to the Loras Duhawks on Friday, the Storm bested both the Northland Lumberjills and the Augsburg Auggies on Saturday. The Storm had great performances around the board, and some of the new faces certainly made an impression in their Storm debuts. 

Game 1: Crown 4, Loras 13
The Storm fell to an 0-13 deficit but ended on a high-note as junior Zoe Roberts hit a grand slam to score Samantha Collins, Ally Adams, and Demi Brezina. Roberts led the team with two hits, and Olivia Christopherson and Liz Kemp got their first action pitching for Crown this season. 

Game 2: Loras 1, Crown 0
In a low-scoring game two, first-year Maddie Nobles received her first start of the season and had a complete seven innings with a single run allowed, striking out two.

Game 3: Northland 9, Crown 17
The lack of runs on opening day for Crown quickly ended on the second day, as Crown scored 17 runs in five innings to easily best UMAC-rival Northland. The Storm started their scoring in their first inning as a Zoe Roberts single scored Telma Roesler. Olivia Dols followed Roberts' at bat with a double that scored Demi Brezina and Roberts to take a 3-1 lead. The Lumberjills had a big-scoring second inning where they retook the lead 5-3, but the Storm came back with a big second inning of their own starting with a Brezina grand slam, that scored Roesler, Tori Diaz, and Janette Maendl. Samantha Collins hit into a fielder's choice that scored Roberts to continue the huge run for the Storm as they went around during the inning. Then, Diaz singled to center scoring Collins and Ally Adams. Roesler ended the scoring during the inning with a home run that scored Diaz and Maendl. The half-inning converted a Northland 5-3 lead to a 13-5 Storm lead. In the fourth, Roberts doubled scoring Roesler and Diaz, and Dols singled to score Brezina to give the Storm a large enough lead to end the game after five innings. First-year Liz Kemp won her first collegiate start in a complete game. 

Game 4: Crown 8, Augsburg 5
In the last game of the tournament, the Storm won behind a great pitching performance of Olivia Christopherson, as she struck out 13 batters and only allowed four earned runs in her first win of the season, a complete game for the sophomore lefty. The Storm took a 3-0 lead by the second inning as they took advantage of Auggie miscues. In the fifth (with the Storm leading 3-1), Zoe Roberts scored Demi Brezina on a single to right. Laryssa Vik followed that with a double that scored Roberts and Telma Roesler. In the sixth, Lottie Ellis scored Ally Adams and Roberts scored Ellis to take an 8-4 Storm lead, which Crown held on to for the win. Roberts led the team with three hits in the matchup.