The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team opened its spring trip to Kansas and Missouri today with a bang—a decisive 11-1 rout of previously undefeated Northwest Missouri State University and an 8-3 win over Pittsburg State University.

Game 1:

In the first game against Northwest Missouri State, the Bulldogs would dominate, with a final score of 11-1. The Bulldogs went down one run early in the first inning. However, the team responded in the second with a two-run homerun from Julia Gronholz to bring the score to 2-1 in favor of UMD.

Both teams were held scoreless in the third inning, but the Bulldogs came alive at the top of the fourth. In the first play of the inning, Jessica Bren scored a home run to bring the score to 3-1. Not to be outdone, Julia Gronholz scored her second two-run homerun of the game, allowing freshman Kiana Bender to get her name on the scoresheet as well. An RBI double from Jordyn Thomas would bring Lauren Oberle and Kat Burkhardt home as well, bringing the score to 7-1. Taylor Koehnen would finish out a masterful inning for the Bulldogs to end the frame 8-1.

The sixth inning would again see the Bulldogs' bats fly. An RBI double from Emma Frost would see both Jessica Bren and Makenna Burslie score to bring the score to 11-1, which would hold through the end of the game. Pitcher Sam Pederson would pick up the win for the Bulldogs.
 

Game 2:

Jordyn Thomas' homerun at the top of the first inning would start out the second game of the day hot for the Bulldogs against the Pittsburg State Gorillas.

The momentum continued into the second inning with a RBI double off a Kiana Bender homerun, allowing Julia Gronholz to score and bring the score to 3-0. The Gorillas would respond with an RBI of their own in the bottom of the inning. 

Jordyn Thomas would hit her second homerun of the game at the top of the third to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 4-1. An RBI double from the Gorillas would tighten the lead to 4-3 at the bottom of the third.

Julia Gronholz continued her excellent day, scoring off an RBI single from Sidney Zavoral at the top of the fourth inning. Lauren Oberle, Taylor Koehnen, and Dea DeLeon would score in quick succession at the top of the fifth to widen the gap to 8-3.

The Bulldogs were held scoreless in the sixth but Lauren Dixon was able to strike out two Pittsburg State players back-to-back to end the inning. The Pittsburg State Gorillas were unable to capitalize on loaded bases in the seventh and the game ended with a final score of 8-3.

The Bulldogs now sit at 4-2 on the season. They continue their spring trip tomorrow, again facing off with Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State. The Bulldogs will play at 10:00am and 12:30pm, respectively, with live stats available through the UMD Bulldogs site. 

To see the full 2021 softball schedule, click here.