The University of Minnesota Duluth is making a habit of creating laughers at Bulldog Park, sweeping a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader against Upper Iowa University in Duluth on Thursday afternoon.

UMD (25-11, 19-7 NSIC) has won nine straight and scored 68 runs in a six-game homestand ending Thursday as the Bulldogs defeating the Peacocks 4-2 in game one before pummeling Upper Iowa (17-23, 9-17 NSIC) by a 21-1 score in seven innings.

COVERING THE BASE
• Junior left-handers Bo Hellquist and Spencer Diedrich each started and picked up a victory in the doubleheader with nearly matching lines, allowing one run in 5.0 innings pitched. Hellquist struck out eight, walked four, and allowed three hits, while Diedrich struck out six and allowed five hits. Junior righty Matt Mattiacci continued a string of dominance out of the bullpen, picking up another two strikeouts for seven in his last three innings, while senior right-hander Michael Stocke struck out the side in his inning of work.
• Junior third baseman Kyle Comer was 4-of-6 on the day with a solo home run and four runs scored on the day. Junior second baseman Jimmy Heck lifted a grand slam and a double, driving in five runs on the afternoon. Senior centerfielder John Meyer and junior first baseman Alex Wojciechowski also homered, while sophomore infielder Kyle Hoffman led the way with a 3-for-3 day off the bench with six runs batted in in game two.

Hellquist pitched in and out of trouble in his five innings of work, giving up his lone run of the day on an RBI fielder's choice after walking a pair of batters to lead off the inning. Meanwhile, Peacock starter Mitch Moser was dealing against UMD, collecting six strikeouts before the Bulldogs finally broke through for three runs, two earned in the fifth thanks to a pair of walks, a bunt single, a sacrifice fly, and a double steal leading to a throwing error. The Bulldogs got some insurance on an RBI double by sophomore left fielder Grant Farley in the sixth, and senior righty Wes Mleziva, despite allowing a home run to Upper Iowa freshman slugger Jacob Greco, picked up his fifth save of the season.

Peacock starter Shimpei Sato walked the bases loaded in the first inning of game two, and Heck made him pay for it with a grand slam that put the Bulldogs up and ended his outing prematurely. UMD scored at least a run against five of six Upper Iowa pitchers. The Peacocks had just a pair of fielding errors in the game, but multiple dropped fly balls on the infield helped the Bulldogs extend to their eventual 20-point victory. Diedrich surrendered a run via a home run from sophomore third baseman Colton Janssen in the third inning, while Stocke and junior righty Matt Schreder shut down the final two innings as UMD cruised to its third consecutive mercy-ruled nine-inning game at Bulldog Park.

UP NEXT
UMD will hit the road for a four-game set to Bismarck, North Dakota where the Bulldogs take on the University of Mary in NSIC action. First pitch of the series is set for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.