The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team welcomed the Winona State Warriors to Duluth this morning, earning a split on the day. The Bulldogs would drop the first game 8-3 but come back in the second game with a 4-2 win.

Game 1:
It would be a seventh inning heartbreaker for the Bulldogs in Game 1, ultimately dropping the game 8-3 after leading 2-1 for most of the game. Jessica Bren and Taylor Koehnen would both get runs on the board for UMD in the second inning, scoring off RBIs from Koehnen and Sidney Zavoral, respectively.

Winona State would add a run in the third inning to make the score 2-1. Each team would get hits, but no runs, until the seventh inning, when Winona State's bats would light up to take the win. The Warriors had a homerun to right center to tie the game at two apeace, and would add three more runs to take a 5-2 lead. Mady Stariha would come in to relieve Sam Pederson but Winona State would add another three-run homerun to right field to make it 8-2.

Julia Gronholz would get a solo homerun in the bottom of the seventh, but the Bulldogs were unable to get the comeback win and the game ended 8-3.

Game 2:
The Bulldogs would earn a split on the day with a victory in the second game, winning 4-2. Lauren Dixon would pitch a complete game and get 11 strikeouts. Her record is now 11-4 this season.

Julia Gronholz and Kaytlynne Schulte (pinch running for Emma Frost, who had a single earlier in the inning) would score the first two runs for the Bulldogs, passing home thanks to Kelly Swank's double to left field. This would give UMD a 2-1 lead after Winona State had a solo homerun early in the second inning.

Each team would trade hits but no runs in the middle of the game before Taylor Koehnen scored in the bottom of the fourth to push the Bulldogs to 3-1. Winona State would get another run in the fifth inning to make the score 3-2, but Taylor Koehnen would score again to seal in the 4-2 win, this time with a solo homerun to right center. 

UMD is now 25-11 this season, with a conference record of 15-7.

The Bulldogs will hit the road once more in the regular season, heading to Sioux Falls this Saturday for a doubleheader against USF before matching up with Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday. For the complete 2021 season schedule, click here.