The University of Minnesota Duluth split its double header on its last day at the Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational, which runs through Monday. The Bulldogs defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State University 6-4 before falling for the second time this season to ranked competition. No. 14 Tarleton State University outlasted UMD 3-1 following the victory in the final action for the Bulldogs in Houston.

Freshmen Sam Pederson and Emma Frost picked up milestone firsts today. Pederson nailed down her first win while Frost blasted her first home run. 

The Bulldogs captured their first win of the season with a wild seventh inning against the Savage Storm. UMD (1-5) scored five times in the top of the inning to take a 6-1 lead but Southeastern Oklahoma (1-5) brewed a rally of its own with three runs in the bottom half. The Bulldogs and Pederson stranded runners on second and third to end the ballgame.

UMD's first win of the season snapped a four-game losing skid, the longest believed streak to start a season (with archived records dating back to 1984).

Sophomore infielder Taylor Koehnen sparked the five-run seventh for the Bulldogs. Koehnen, who etched UMD's first run in the second with a RBI single, started off the inning with a triple in the right-center gap. She would score the next at-bat as senior outfielder Sammi Sadler rifled a single back through the middle. Two batters later, the Bulldogs' power bats came alive. Junior infielder Lauren Oberle hammered a two-run home run to increase the lead to 4-1. UMD delivered another two-run bomb, three batters later, with Frost cracking her first collegiate home run over the left-field wall. Frost went 2-for-3 with a walk and had the only two-out hit for the Bulldogs in the game. 

The third time was the charm for Pederson (1-1) as she notched her first collegiate win in her third start. The native of North Branch, Minn., fended off the Savage Storm and received the offensive support she hoped for. Pederson, who also collected her first hit as well, threw all seven innings, giving up four runs, three of those earned. She scattered nine hits and four walks while fanning two.

Tarleton State (5-1) kept rolling as it won its fifth straight game at the expense of UMD. Tanna Huie put the TexAnns on the board in the third with a 2-RBI single. The Bulldogs cut it to 2-1 as they answered the next half inning. Frost continued to swing a hot bat as she picked up her third RBI of the day on a single that allowed junior outfielder Lauren Greeder to cross home plate after beating out an infield single to start the inning. UMD had the floodgates awaiting to busted open in that inning but the clutch hit never arrived as Tristan Bridges shut down the bases loaded opportunity. 

Tarleton State added an insurance run in the sixth after loading the bases and worked an eight-pitch walk to send a runner home with the bases juiced. The Bulldogs put runners on in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings but left them stranded. Senior infielder Kalynn Tilton compiled two of UMD's six hits against the TexAnns. Junior hurler Breanna Swint (0-3) took the loss but had six punchouts. Swint has 18 of the Bulldogs' 26 strikeouts this season.

The Bulldogs will return to action with the Emporia State Classic in Emporia, Kan. on Feb. 22-24.