The University of Minnesota Duluth knew it faced a tough task at Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Winona State University on Thursday afternoon and were ultimately unable to pull off a victory in the midst of an eight-game road trip. The Warriors posted a 5-0 win in the opener before winning the rematch 1-0 as well.
With the game still scoreless in Game One, the Bulldogs threatened in the top of the fourth with three consecutive singles to load the bases with no outs. UMD was unable to bring anyone around, as WSU's junior pitcher McKenna Larsen escaped by retiring three straight batters. Senior southpaw
Sam Hartmann held down the Warriors for three innings before they notched three runs in the fourth inning, proving to be all the home team would need. WSU would tack on two more in the fifth, giving them a 5-0 lead which would prove to be the final score. Junior shortstop
Becky Smith and second baseman
Natalie Wright each collected a pair of hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate. Sophomore right fielder
Sammi Sadler tallied the lone extra base hit for the Bulldogs, who totaled eight in the game. Hartmann tossed five innings for UMD before being relieved by freshman
Breanna Swint, who pitched a scoreless sixth frame.
In the rematch, the Bulldogs were involved in a no-hit performance on the mound for the second straight day -- but this time they were on the other side of things. Winona State freshman pitcher Jordyn Kleman held the UMD offense at bay, walking just one batter on her way to picking up the victory. Sophomore
Valerie Hohol, who no-hit the University of Minnesota Crookston on Wednesday, held the Warriors scoreless through six innings. Hohol struckout four batters on the game while allowing the lone run in the seventh inning. The Woodbury, Minn. native has now surrendered just one run in her last 11.2 innings pitched. The Warriors (33-8 overall; 14-2 NSIC) scored the game-winning run in the seventh inning with two outs when McKenna Larsen drove a single to left field for a walk-off win.
UMD (28-12 overall; 12-4 NSIC) will return to the diamond tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. for a NSIC doubleheader against Upper Iowa University.
