Elevation.

That was the word used by Jordyn Thomas in the dugout after she crushed her first collegiate home run. Little did she, and the rest of the University of Minnesota Duluth, know that it was the start of something big.

The Bulldogs demolished Long Island University Post 17-2 in fifth innings and turned around right away to thrash Georgian Court University 9-1 in the nightcap.

UMD (15-3) launched eight home runs on the final day of their PFX Athletics Spring Games in Clermont, Fla. It blasted its way to their eighth-and-ninth straight victories and finished the Sunshine State road trip 9-1. The Bulldogs are 43-9 in THE Spring Games since it first appearance in 2013. During the 10 games, they connected on 17 long balls. UMD has 28 home runs for the season, leading the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference by more than double the amount of Winona State University and the University of Mary (11).

Thomas, freshman catcher Jessica Bren, sophomore third baseman Lauren Oberle and sophomore catcher Lexi Janigo all went yard. Oberle recorded her first home run of the year and Janigo posted her first collegiate home run. Bren, who supplied a hot bat again on Thursday, homered three times as well but it was the freshman from Hermantown, Minn., that made the most noise.

Thomas led off the second with a moonshot sailing over straight-away center to give UMD a 4-0 lead. That was just the beginning as the Bulldogs sent up 13 batters and scored 10 times in that inning. Thomas got a chance to go up again and parked a 2-0 pitch over the center field fence for a grand slam and her second homer in the inning. But the Hermantown H.S. product wasn't finish. Shortly after Janigo and Bren went back-to-back in the fourth, Thomas launched a no-doubter to right for her third home run of the game. She finished 3-for-3 with three home runs and seven RBI.

She is the first Bulldog since Ashley Lewis (March 28, 2016 vs. Concordia University, St. Paul; ninth inning) to have two home runs in the same inning and set a perceived-program record with three consecutive home runs in a game. Thomas is one of six players this season to have at least three home runs in a game. Her seven RBI is tied for second-most in Division II this season. Her single-game homer, RBI, and total bases marks are all conference-highs.

The 15-run decision was the most lopsided victory for UMD since the Bulldogs shut out Minnesota State University Moorhead 15-0 back on April 18, 2006. UMD only had five hits in the second contest but walked five times and took advantage of four Lion errors including three in a five-run fifth inning. Bren had two two-run home runs, one in the first and one in the sixth to sandwich the scoring.

Overshadowed by the offensive power, the pitching staff quietly performed their job on the rubber. Junior Valerie Hohol picked up her seventh victory of the season and sophomore Breanna Swint received her sixth. Hohol spent twice as much time on the bench watching the offense mash then pitching. She allowed six base runners and struck out three. Swint fanned a career-high nine Lions in six innings of work. Swint allowed one run on four hits and a walk. The Marysville, Calif., native has already matched her win total from last year.

UMD finished hitting .337 in Florida and outscored the opposition 73-14. It out homered its opponents 17-1. As a team, the Bulldogs had a .419 on-base percentage and a .609 slugging percentage. They swiped 26 bags compared to four. The pitchers allowed an ERA of 1.28 on the road trip and lowered their ERA from 4.25 to 2.65.

Bren capped off the week leading UMD in hits (13), home runs (7), RBI (17), batting average (.500), slugging (1.385), on-base (.533) and runs (12). Senior second baseman Natalie Wright ended hitting .367 and senior center fielder Hannah Schmoll was close behind, hitting .364. She also had a team-high eight stolen bases.
 
The Bulldogs will play in the 2018 HyVee Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. They will play their final six non-conference games starting on Friday, March 16 against Emporia State University and host Missouri Western State University.