THE OPENING PITCH: The University of Minnesota Duluth travels west for a midweek Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference outing against the University of Minnesota Crookston on Wednesday. The first pitch of the doubleheader from the UMC Softball Field begins at 1:00 p.m. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINNESOTA CROOKSTON: The Golden Eagles are 12-18 overall and 1-5 in the NSIC through the first week of conference action. The Eagles have dropped seven of their nine games including losing the past three league outings. UMC split with Sioux Falls on the road before getting swept by Southwest Minnesota State University on Monday.

Minnesota Crookston is third in batting average (.318), third in on-base percentage (.386), and second in slugging percentage (.334) in the NSIC. It leads the conference in hits, RBI and home runs this season. On the mound, the Vikings are second in ERA (1.48), second in opposing batting average (.189), second in strikeouts per game (6.6) and four in walks allowed per game (2.1). They have the 10th-best ERA in the NCAA.

Malia Pula is hitting .343 on the season to lead the Golden Eag;es at the plate. Pula has 34 hits, three for homers, 21 RBI and a team-leading .535 slugging percentage. Maggie Morales is hitting .312 and also has three home runs and 21 RBI. Mika Rodriguez has a team-high five home runs. Paige Pitlick and Taylor Graven are scheduled to start against the Bulldogs. Pitlick is 5-11 in 14 starts with a 2.99 ERA. she has 74 strikeouts and 26 walks in 86.2 innings. Graven is 5-3 in her 12 starts with a 3.17 ERA. She has two saves on the season. Graven has 51 strikeouts and 25 walks in 84.0 innings.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its opponents stack up head-to-head with its respective records, in the NSIC, and in the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association poll.

WATCH LIVE: The double header versus the Golden Eagles will be available for free and can be viewed at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

LAST AT BAT: The Bulldogs went 2-2 over the weekend falling twice to No. 14 Augustana before defeating Wayne State both times in the road doubleheader. UMD lost 8-5 and 6-1 to the Vikings despite launching four home runs during Saturday's contests. Senior catcher Hannah Bloch, sophomore infielder Taylor Koehnen, junior outfielder Jayme Langbehn and junior infielder Lauren Oberle all went yard for UMD against Augustana. The Bulldogs returned to their winning ways on Sunday dismantling the Wildcats with ease. UMD won 10-0 in five innings and 10-2 in six. Koehnen compiled a team-high four hits in the double header while Oberle and sophomore utility player Jessica Bren each drove in three runners.

SERIES SUPREMACY: UMD has won all 29 meetings against Minnesota Crookston. The rivalry dates back to 2000 when the Golden Eagles first entered the NSIC for softball. The series took a brief break before rekindling the series in 2009. The Bulldogs have won all 19 games since, including taking all three games back in 2012.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST SEASON'S SERIES: UMD claimed 9-1 and 1-0 victories at home last season in the team's only double header meeting against Minnesota Crookston. Junior pitcher Breanna Swint fired a career-high nine strikeouts giving up one hit in her start. Sophomore infielder Jordyn Thomas racked in at the dish going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI in the two games. Junior Lauren Greeder and senior Kalynn Tilton both walked twice and scored one run.

OUTTA HERE!: UMD hit seven home runs in the first week of NSIC play. Five different batters  for the Bulldogs hit at least one over the fence. Sophomore infielder Taylor Koehnen collected her first Bulldog home run against Augustana. Juniors Hannah Bloch and Lauren Oberle each blasted a pair of home runs.

SHUTOUT OF EPIC PROPORTIONS: UMD's 15-0 win over St. Michael's College was the biggest shutout by the Bulldogs since 2006 when they picked up a pair of identical 15-0 decisions against Finlandia University and Minnesota State University Moorhead in the same season.

SCORE FIRST: Scoring first doesn't always lead to victories but it is close. The Bulldogs have a combined 106-22 (.828) record dating back to 2015.

THE FIRST OF MANY: Freshman pitcher Sam Pederson established one of many firsts over the opening weekend. Pederson grabbed her first collegiate start against No. 20 Arkansas Tech, where she struck out four batters. She recorded her first career win in complete-game fashion against Southeastern Oklahoma State. Also, she ripped her first hit of her young career in that game as well.

SHUTOUT SAM: Freshman pitcher Sam Pederson pitched  her first-ever shutout gem this past Tuesday in the opener versus St. Cloud State. Pederson fired 96 pitches allowing three hits and three walks. She notched a career-high five strikeouts as well.

SPEAKING OF FIRSTS: Freshman infielder Emma Frost cracked her first collegiate home run in her fourth career game. Frost bombed a two-run shot in the seventh inning against Southeastern Oklahoma State. She had her first hit as a Bulldog earlier in the second inning.

SPEAKING OF FIRSTS II: Freshman infielder Bre Bresnahan connected on her first-ever collegiate hit in the first game of the double header against Wayne State on Sunday. Bresnahan, who has appeared in nine games off the bench this season, drew two walks in her first eight plate appearances before singling up the middle in the fifth inning.

DIALED IN: Sophomore infielder Jordyn Thomas is leading the Bulldogs in hits (24), doubles (7), home runs (4), runs driven in (16), total bases (45), and slugging percentage (.600).

HOT BAT: Sophomore infielder Taylor Koehnen is leading the Bulldogs at the plate with her .355 batting average. Koehnen is hitting .382 (13-for-34) in her last 11 games and has five multi-hit outings during that stretch.

FINDING A WAY ON BASE: Sophomore utility player Jessica Bren has each reached base safely in all but two game this season. Bren has 19 hits and a team-high 12 walks this season. The Victoria, Minn., native has a team-leading .386 on-base percentage. Bren, who is also riding a team-high five-game hitting streak, has reached a team-high 12 times (.480) when leading off an inning.

STRIKE EARLY: The need to jump ahead and play with the lead has been important during the first 25 games. UMD is 11-0 this season when leading after the third inning. Meanwhile, when tied or trailing heading to the fourth, UMD is just 2-12. The two wins when trailing came against Concordia-St. Paul in a non-conference game and Wayne State this past Sunday.

SIXTH SENSE: The Bulldogs have outscored teams 18-6 in the sixth inning this season. The plus-12 run differential in the sixth is the best for UMD with the fourth inning being the next best at plus-nine.

MILE MARKER 100: Jen Walter became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins. Walter reached the historical mark in the first game against Northern State on Thursday. She attained 100 victories in 145 games while former head coach Jen Banford reached 100 wins in 182 games. 

PILING UP THE HITS UNDER WALTER: Since the arrival of the new manager, UMD is 99-8 when it out-hits the opposition. That is roughly 58.8 percent of the total games under Walter's tenure (107 of 182) that they have out-hit the opposition.

ON DECK: The Bulldogs will return home for doubleheaders against the University of Mary and Minot State University this weekend at James S. Malosky Stadium.