THE OPENING PITCH: The University of Minnesota Duluth ventures down to Florida for a week-long stay to compete in the PFX Athletics Spring Games starting on Saturday, March 3. The Bulldogs will play eight different teams in a span of six days starting with No. 13 Southern Indiana University and Norte Dame College (Ohio).

THE SPRING GAMES: Founded in 2008, THE Spring Games is the world's largest college softball event held in Clermont, Fla. This season UMD is one of 319 different teams spanning across all three collegiate divisions, NAIA, and Junior College. The five-week event starts Feb. 22 and last to March 30.  

THE SCHEDULE:
DATE     TEAM                             TIME            LOCATION
3/3         #13 Southern Indiana     10:30 a.m.     LW4
3/3         Notre Dame College       1:00 p.m.       LW3
3/4         Grand Valley State          10:30 a.m.     LW5
3/4         Holy Family                     3:30 p.m.       LW3
3/5         Missouri-St. Louis           1:00 p.m.        HP2
3/5         Concordia (N.Y.)              3:30 p.m.       HP2
3/7         Mercyhurst                      1:00 p.m.       LW1
3/7         Saint Anselm                   6:00 p.m.       LW1
3/8         LIU Post                           3:30 p.m.       HP3
3/8         Georgian Court                6:00 p.m.       HP3

LW- Legends Way | HP- Hancock Park

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its opponents stack up with its respective 2018 records, last year's records, and in the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association poll.
TEAM                            RECORD   2017 RECORD  NFCA POLL
UMD                                   6-2               35-20                  NR
Southern Indiana                6-4               46-14                 13th
Notre Dame College           0-0               23-30                  NR
Grand Valley State              3-3               33-18                  NR
Holy Family                         0-0               28-20                  NR
Missouri-St. Louis               4-6               42-15                  NR
Concordia (N.Y.)                 0-0                 9-23                   NR
Mercyhurst                          0-4              16-30-1                NR
Saint Anselm                      4-1                18-16                  NR

LIVE STATS: Live stats can also be viewed here: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

Live stats can also be viewed in HTML form here: sidearmstats.com/umd/softball/xlive.htm

SUCCESS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE: Since they started playing in THE Spring Games back in 2013, the Bulldogs have gone 34-8 including 8-2 last season. UMD will head to Florida for the fourth consecutive season after taking a one-year break in 2014.

SEND THEM PACKING: The nine strikeouts recorded by Valerie Hohol in the season opener against SMSU was a career high for the junior. Hohol eclipsed her previous mark of eight strikeouts last year against the University of Minnesota Crookston.

HITS A PLENTY: There is no stalling in the early going with the offense. UMD has notched at least eight hits in each outing this season including 22 hits against Missouri Western State. The 22 hits were the most hits since the Bulldogs put up 23 against Concordia-St. Paul on Mar. 28, 2016. It has averaged 12.4 hits per game.

GETTING RUN PRODUCTION: The Bulldogs started the season with four games with at least 10 runs. The last time UMD had double figures runs in consecutive outings in at least three games was in 2011 when UMD netted 11, 15 and 11 runs. 

OFFENSIVE BOMBARDMENT: It was rarified air on Feb. 15 against Missouri Western State. For only the third time in the last decade, the Bulldogs eclipsed the 20-run mark in their 22-12 shelling of the Griffons. Surprisingly, the 22 runs are tied for fifth most runs scored by a Division II team this season. In that game, Becky Smith scored five times, which is tied for second in the country for an individual game-high. They also had 21 RBI that contest, which is tied with three other squads for the nation lead. 
The last time UMD had that many runners cross the plate was on March 4, 2006 when it put up a 25-spot on Marian College. The combined 34 runs were the most in program history since UMD and Upper Iowa University tabbed 39 runs back in April 15, 2007. 

THE NEW RBI KING: In the first double header barrage against Missouri Western State, Becky Smith set the career RBI record at UMD, jumping pass Ashley Johnson (2008-11) and Kierra Jeffers (2010-13) for most all-time. She now sits with 154 RBI surpassing the old mark of 149. Smith, who leads the team with 14 RBI this season, sits tied for eighth among her active Division II peers for RBI in a career. The Long Lake, Minn., native leads the club with four multi-RBI games. 

SPEED DEMON: The season and career record holder in stolen bases, Hannah Schmoll has one last year to etch her name higher into the UMD record books. Back in 2016, Schmoll smashed the single-season stolen base record with the new aggressive guidance by coach Walter. Schmoll stole 40 bases on 46 attempts during her sophomore campaign. Last year, the Grand Rapids, Minn., native notched 37 steals, three shy of her own record. She was at it again as Schmoll has converted on all 12 attempts this season. In her three-plus seasons thus far, Schmoll has 114 stolen bags in 130 tries. Both those marks are career highs at UMD. Among active leaders in Division II, Schmoll ranks with the fourth most. 

WITH THE NATION'S BEST: The offense has been no joke in the first three weeks of the season as it has been clicking on all cylinders. UMD checks in as the best team in the NSIC in batting average (.390), runs per game (9.88), on-base percentage (.464), slugging percentage (.598), home runs per game (1.4), and stolen bases per game (3.1). Nationally, it is third in hitting, second in scoring, fourth in slugging and stealing and eighth in on-base. 

HITTING STREAK: One streak came to an end and another has emerged. Hannah Schmoll, who collected a hit in the last 12 games of the 2017 season, had her 18-game hitting streak put to a halt but Jessica Bren has an eight-game hitting streak to start her collegiate career. 

RIPPING IT EVERYWHERE: Only 13 other players, none in the NSIC, have a better batting average than Sammi Sadler. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native is hitting .565 with 13 hits in 23 at-bats. 

YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD: The duo of Becky Smith and Jessica Bren are second in the conference in home runs with four. They both average a home run every two games. That ratio is No. 1 in the NSIC and 10th in the nation. 

CAN ANYONE CATCH HER?: On a per game basis, Hannah Schmoll is swiping 1.50 bases, which is the best in the entire Division II landscape. 

PILING UP THE HITS UNDER WALTER: Since the arrival of the new manager, UMD is 61-5 when it out-hits the opposition. That is roughly 58 percent of the game under Walter (66 of 115). 

SEVENTH INNING STRETCH: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 15-1 in the final inning.

EXTRA! EXTRA!: UMD is 13-4 in extra innings dating back to the 2013 season. Last season, the Bulldogs won the only game that didn't finish in seven (8-7 over Northeastern State in 8 innings).

WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: The last two seasons UMD has gone 11-5 in one-run games. It has won the last three one-run decisions. 

SCORE FIRST: Scoring first doesn't always lead to victories but it is close. The Bulldogs have a combined 71-14 (.835) record dating back to 2015 when scoring first including 24-3 in 2017. The Bulldogs are 3-1 in such events in 2018 and 2-0 when scoring in the first inning.

FLASH THE GLOVE: 2017 was a record-breaking year defensively for the Bulldogs. UMD closed out the year with a .974 fielding percentage -- the best mark in program history (the previous record was .971 set in 2002) - - to rank 11th among all NCAA Division II clubs. Leading the way for the Bulldogs and setting career highs in that department were Becky Smith (.982), Kalynn Tilton (.982), Hannah Schmoll (.978), Lauren Oberle (.971) and Natalie Wright (.965).

THE PRICE IS WRIGHT: For two seasons Natalie Wright has dominated at the plate. The two-time All-NSIC selection earned D2CAA second team honors her sophomore season by pacing the 2016 Bulldogs with a .373 batting average and 66 hits (including a 20-game hitting streak), eight home runs, 13 doubles and 47 runs batted in. She followed that up by topping the club in batting average (.360), hits (67), doubles (18), triples (5) and slugging percentage (.559) last season. 

THE WHOLE GANG IS (ALMOST) BACK: Every single positional player is back for the 2018 season. Sam Hartmann, who is back as a volunteer coach, is the lone player to not return. Hartmann ended her career with 94 career starts (most by a Bulldog) going 47-38 with 417 strikeouts. UMD does have three pitchers returning.

GETTING THE CALL UP: Four freshmen join the 2018 roster in addition to the 13 returnees. Two local prep standouts (Brandie Goldberg and Jordyn Thomas) fuse with exceptional metro duo (Jessica Bren and Taylor Koehnen) to make up the freshmen class. 
Goldberg, who dominated the rubber for Superior H.S., will serve as the fourth pitcher. Thomas, who played multiple positions for Hermantown H.S., will patrol backup infield duties. Bren, who hails from Chanhassen, Minn., is prepping for time behind the plate with a power bat. Lastly, Koehnen will rotate as a utility backup near the middle infield as she learns under the guidance of the starting seniors.

SKIPPER'S REPORT CARD: The NSIC coaches placed UMD fourth in the coaches' preseason poll. The poll was released on Jan. 24 and the league selected Winona State University to finish first in the 2018 NSIC Preseason Softball Coaches' Poll. This marks the third time in the past four seasons that the Warriors have been selected by the coaches to win the league.  The Warriors amassed 221 points and 11 first place votes. Augustana was second with 206 points and two first place votes. The defending NSIC regular season, tournament and NCAA National Champions of Minnesota State were third in the poll, receiving three first place votes. 

2017 ACCOLADES: Three Bulldogs earned All-NSIC honors last season. Natalie Wright was the lone Bulldog to be name to the first team. She was joined by Hannah Schmoll and Becky Smith, whom both were selected on the second team. In addition, Wright and Schmoll each were given the conference's gold glove award at their respective positions -- Wright at second base and Schmoll at center field. Kalynn Tilton was the only UMD player bestowed with a Player of the Week accolade. 

ON DECK: After a week of soaking up the Florida sunshine, the Bulldogs will have round two in St, Joseph, Mo. as they compete in the 2018 Hy-Vee Classic, which starts March 16.