The University of Minnesota Duluth breezed in game one but needed some additional support in extras Monday to fight off and sweep the University of Tampa at the Naimoli Family Softball Field in Tampa, Fla. The Bulldogs took the front half of the double header 4-1 before getting a pair of runs in a eighth inning to take the backend 5-3 over the host Spartans.

UMD (9-8) climbs itself above .500 and pushes it record in Florida to 4-2. Meanwhile, Tampa falls to 18-8 on the season.

Despite being outhit 8-3 in the opener, the Bulldogs used solid pitching, good defense and opportune hits to best the Spartans. Sophomore pitcher Sam Pederson nearly pitched a shutout, giving up her lone run in the seventh on a leadoff double. Pederson scattered eight hits and three walks and fanned one for her second win. The defense backed up Pederson during her near shutout bid. Sophomore third baseman Emma Frost made a diving catch in foul territory in the fifth inning that would later halt Tampa from scoring and junior second baseman Taylor Koehnen turned a double play after fielding, tagging and throwing to first all in one motion to end the third.

Senior shortstop Lauren Oberle produced two of the Bulldogs' three hits including a thunderous two-run homer hit well above the 240-foot, 10-foot tall fence. For Oberle it was her fifth homer and her third blast in three consecutive days. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native gave UMD a 2-0 lead in the third and UMD would tack on runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Junior utility player Jessica Bren scored from second on an error from the Spartan second baseman and senior outfielder Jayme Langbehn produced a bases-loaded walk to extend the Bulldog lead to 4-0.

The same blueprint applied in the rematch as UMD marched out to the lead again, this time with a RBI single by junior first baseman Jordyn Thomas. Later, the defense showed off its muscle as Langbehn gunned a runner out at third for an inning-ending double play. Fast forward to the sixth, Bren nearly tattooed an identical homer that Oberle smashed in game one. Bren's two-run homer, her third of the year, gave UMD a 3-0 cushion. 

The Spartans didn't back down, giving one finish push in the bottom of seventh. Aided by a pair of untimely errors, Tampa pushed across three runs but senior hurler Breanna Swint shut them down and allowed her offense a chance to win it in extras.

That's just what they did.

The Bulldogs pieced together a two-out rally started by Kohenen's single to center. She scored the next at-bat on Bren's double in the right center gap. Thomas then squeezed a liner down the right field line scoring Bren.

Swint gave up a two-out hit in the eighth but slammed the door shut to secure her third win. Mady Stariha started game two and took a hard-luck no-decision after tossing six-plus innings.

The Bulldogs take their Florida excursion to St. Leo on Tuesday against Saint Leo University for an afternoon twinbill that begins at 12:00 p.m. EST.