Down -- but not out.

For six innings, it appeared the University of Minnesota Duluth was headed for another Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader split. Heading to the top of the seventh and trailing 5-0, the Bulldogs mounted arguably their biggest comeback of the 2015 season as they went on to shade Northern State University 6-5 in eight innings Tuesday afternoon. That, coupled with a 4-1 triumph in the opener, gave the Bulldogs their second league sweep of the year and helped keep their NSIC Tournament berth hopes well intact with four games to go in the regular season.

UMD (29-20 overall; 13-13 overall) had managed just three hits prior to the seventh-inning outburst in the backend of Tuesday's twinbill. Senior first baseman Jordan Rice belted a three-run homer -- her 13th of the season (tying a personal high) and school-record 43rd as Bulldog -- to highlight a five-run, five-hit seventh inning. One inning later, junior catcher Ashley Lewis scored the winning run on freshman center fielder Hannah Schmoll's single through the right side. Rookie Sadie Knudson, who replaced starting pitcher Cayli Sadler with no outs in the sixth, fanned the Wolves in order in the bottom of the eighth to secure her first collegiate win. Salder allowed eight hits and five runs while Knudson threw three innings of no-hit, six-strikeout ball, facing the minimum nine batters. Schmoll, Lewis, and Jordan all had three hits to pace the Bulldogs offensively.

Sadler (16-10) opened the day by striking out eight Wolves and giving up just four hits in the complete game victory. Junior designated hitter Ashley Schilling went 3-for-3 and put UMD ahead for good at 2-1 in the top of the fourth inning with a two-run home run to center field. Schmoll, who was 5-for-9 on the afternoon to boost her team-leading batting average to .404 and junior third baseman Sami Schnyder each added two hits and one RBI.

UMD will conclude the 2015 regular season at James S. Malosky Stadium this weekend with two games against the University of Mary on Saturday and two more with Minot State University the following afternoon. Saturday is Strike Out Breast Cancer Day and Sunday's doubleheader is UMD's Annual Senior Day and will feature a fundraiser for current UMD athletic staffer (and UMD Bulldog softball alumna) Julianne "Montana" Vasicheck, who went through an unplanned emergency liver transplant recently, after her liver was damaged by the rare and incurable disease called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC).