The University of Minnesota Duluth couldn't have asked for a better afternoon to kick off Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference softball.
The Bulldogs delivered key hits and shut down St. Cloud State University in the double header home opener at James S. Malosky Stadium. UMD held one of the nation's best hitting teams thus far to only one run as it took the double header by scores of 1-0 and 3-1 on Tuesday. The Bulldogs struck first in the opening inning of each ballgame and they fended off numerous chances by the Huskies as St. Cloud State (18-8) stranded a total 14 runners on base in the double dip.
Freshman
Sam Pederson and junior
Breanna Swint silenced the Huskies bats that came into today with a top-10 offense nationally in terms of runs per game, batting average, on-base and slugging percentage. The pitching duo combined to fan nine batters while scattering 11 hits and four walks on the afternoon. Pederson set the pace early as she was on target from the opening pitch in the first game. She fired her first shutout of her young collegiate career doing so in just 96 pitches, the least amount thrown by Pederson in a complete-game effort. The North Branch, Minn., native struck out a career-high five Huskies in the process to pick up her team-leading sixth victory. Pederson tiptoed around a jam in the second inning with St. Cloud State leaving the bases loaded with one out. She also stranded a runner at third in the fourth.
Meanwhile, Swint maneuvered through traffic of her own. Swint got out of a base-loaded jam in the top of the first inning in the second game. She had three soft-hit balls find their way for singles but Swint forced a couple lazy pop flies to get out with no damage. The Marysville, Calif., native fought herself and the team out of around possible jam the following inning. The Bulldogs nearly had Huskies doubled off on a line-drive out but the throw to first went to the fence and the runner advanced to third. Swint, again, got the next two batters to lift fly balls for outs to end the threat. St. Cloud State did capitalize off one bad pitch as it sailed over the left-field fence for a solo homer. That didn't seem to bother Swint as her cut down the remaining Huskies to seal her fifth win.
Sophomore infielder
Jordyn Thomas collected three of the Bulldogs' 10 hits as she ripped all three of her hits for doubles. Thomas gave UMD the lead in the first game -- the only run scored in the opening contest -- on a rocket hit to the left-center gap. Thomas later ripped another double down the right-field line in the fourth.
The Bulldogs got creative in the rematch. Sophomore
Jessica Bren led off the bottom of the first with a single to left. Bren reached third after a sacrifice and a deep fly ball. Thomas was intentional walked and that allowed UMD to manufacture its first run. Thomas got into a rundown between first and second long enough allowing Bren to make a break for home and touch the plate before Thomas got nailed with the tag.
The lead doubled in the third. Junior catcher
Hannah Bloch started the frame with a hard liner down the left-field line and off the third baseman's glove. Freshman
Ali Schak pinch ran for Bloch and she would score on a bouncer back up the middle by sophomore infielder
Taylor Koehnen. UMD added one more insurance run in the sixth after Thomas burned the SCSU pitching once again. Thomas roped a double to right to leave an RBI opportunity for junior outfielder
Jayme Langbehn. The Elk River, Minn., native pounced on a 1-2 pitch left up in the zone and drove it to left for her fifth RBI of the year.
UMD (11-10) will head to No. 17 Augustana University and Wayne State College on Saturday and Sunday for NSIC double headers.
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