Bulldog senior Jordyn Thomas tied Jordan Rice for the most homeruns in program history (44) during Minnesota Duluth's 8-0 win over Central Missouri on Sunday afternoon in Maryville, MO. Paired with their loss to Northwest Missouri earlier in the day, the Bulldogs split the two-game series on Sunday and move to a 6-1 overall record on the season. 

UMD pitcher Lauren Dixon started game two for the Bulldogs and picked up her third win of the season to move to a 3-0 record overall. Through six innings of work, Dixon surrendered just one hit, while tallying six strikeouts in the win. On offense, Bulldog hitters combined for five homeruns on the day. Kiana Bender, Jordyn Thomas, Sidney Zavoral, Elle Potts, and Kat Burkhardt all registered homers in UMD's 8-0 win in game two. Additionally, Zavoral posted a team-high three hits for the Bulldogs in game two. 

"It was great to see our team come back with the response that we did in game two after coming out flat in game one." said head coach Lynn Anderson. "Both those teams that we faced are good teams and we didn't bring Bulldog Softball against Northwest Missouri. We set our emotions aside from that loss, mentally rest, and played better ball against Central Missouri. Lauren Dixon did phenomenal on the mound, our defense made plays behind her, and our hitters had better approaches at the plate, and thus better outcomes. That's the team I know we are, and can continue to be this season. Playing the same two teams tomorrow, they are going to come out strong against us, so we have to be zoned in right from pitch one from game one and play our game with the behaviors and goals we set out to achieve this weekend." 

Game Two: 8-0 Win over Central Missouri
Despite dropping game one earlier in the day, Minnesota Duluth came out firing in game two. After getting two strikeouts and a clean inning in the top of the first from their pitcher Dixon, UMD took control in the bottom of the inning. Frost started the run with a single up the middle. A few batters later, Sidney Zavoral would single and Frost would score after a throwing error was charged to Central Missouri. UMD took a 1-0 lead to the second. 

The Bulldogs would add four runs through the second and third innings. In the bottom of the second, Elle Potts reached on a lead-off walk. During the next at-bat, a deep homer to center-field from Burkhardt would extend the UMD lead to 3-0. For Burkhardt, the homerun is her second of the season and third of her Bulldog career.
 

In the bottom of the third, UMD would get another lead-off walk, this time from Kiana Bender. During the next at-bat, Thomas would launch her 44th career homer to center-field to blow the game open and give the Bulldogs a 5-0 advantage heading to the fourth. The homer for Thomas ties her with Jordan Rice for the most in program history. Niether side would plate a run in the fourth and the bats would stay hot for UMD in the fifth. Back-to-back homers from Zavoral and Potts put the Bulldogs ahead 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth. Bender would put the finishing touches on a perfect win for UMD with a homer of her own in the bottom of the sixth to secure an 8-0 win. The eight runs is a season-high for the Bulldogs. 

Game One: 9-1 Loss to Northwest Missouri
The Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season during Sunday's game one. UMD opened the scoring early in the first inning, thanks to an RBI from Jordyn Thomas. The RBI was Thomas's team-leading eighth of the season and gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first. The Bearcats wasted no time answering UMD's early score. Four runs in the bottom of the inning sealed a 4-1 NMSU lead heading to the second.

The Bulldogs would be kept off the scoreboard for the rest of game one, despite a two-hit game from senior Emma Frost. The Bearcats would open the game up with two runs in the third and three runs in the fourth. After UMD failed to close the eight-run deficit after the top of the fifth, the game was called for Northwest Missouri. Sam Pederson started on the mound for the Bulldogs and picked up her first loss of the 2022 campaign, bringing her season record to 2-1. Mady Stariha saw one inning of relief for UMD in the fourth. 

Up Next
The Bulldogs will be back in action tomorrow morning in Missouri. UMD will face Central Missouri at 9 AM before finishing the weekend with a game against Northwest Missouri at 11 AM.