A grand slam from
Kat Burkhardt in game two helped the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to a series split with the Winona State Warriors on Friday afternoon in Winona, Minn. After dropping game one of the double header 3-1, UMD bounced back with an impressive 10-7 victory in the seires finale. The road split moves UMD to 26-11 overall on the season.
"Our team came out with more grit in game two, plus we showed better discipline at the plate," said Head Coach
Lynn Anderson. "Christin did a great job coming in and shutting down Winona's offense. Lauren brought it again on the mound in game one but we need to do a better job supporting her offensively and manufacture some runs more often when we have opportunities. I know we're capable of it. We have a strong offense that's explosive. We'll look to make that upgrade for tomorrow's games."
At the plate, Burkhardt would finish the day with three hits and four RBIs, including a grand slam and a double. 5th-year senior Jordan Thomas posted a double and a homer on the day to bring her career home run total to 50. Fellow 5th-year
Emma Frost continued her strong season as she tallied three hits and two RBIs on Friday. Additionally,
Kelly Swank and
Sidney Zavoral also secured home runs during UMD's game two victory.
Sophomore pitcher
Lauren Dixon made her 19th start of the season in game one and picked up the loss after giving up just five hits and two earned runs. Though she suffered the loss, Dixon noted eight strike outs on the day to extend her team-lead to 141 strike outs on the year. Game two saw a combined pitching effort from
Sam Pederson and
Christin Hartman. After getting the start, Pederson was pulled in the bottom of the second after giving up eight hits and six runs. Hartman would come up big in relief, limiting the Warriors to just four hits and one run in 5.1 innings of action. For Hartman, it's her second save of the season.
Game Two: UMD wins 10-7
A wild game saw UMD take an 8-6 lead into the top of the third inning. A homer from Swank, followed by an RBI double from Tomas capped off a jam-packed first inning for the Bulldogs. After Winona responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first, UMD went back on the attack. First, a two RBI double from Frost would score De Deleon and
Nicole Schmitt to put UMD up 4-2. A hit by pitch and a walk would load the bases for Burkhardt. The sophomore stepped into the box and delivered a grand slam and her fifth homer of the season to extend Minnesota Duluth's lead to 8-2. The Warriors quickly responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to make it 8-6. A solo shot from Zavoral in the fourth, followed by a RBI SAC fly from
Julia Gronholz in the sixth would seal a wild 10-7 win in game two.
Game One: UMD loss 3-1
Game one of the double header saw a pitching duel throughout the first three innings. The game for UMD would be an exact turn around from their previous series with Bemidji State, where the Bulldogs noted 23 runs in two games. Winona State would be the first to break through in the bottom of the fourth. An error out in center field would give the Warriors a runner on second. A quick single scored the runner and gave Winona the 1-0 advantage. After UMD failed to score in the fifth and sixth innings, Winona added two more runs in the bottom half of the sixth. Down 3-0 in the top of the seventh, Thomas labeled her program leading 50th career home run over the center field fence. However, the homer would come a little too late for the Bulldogs. Winona ended UMD's five-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory in game one.
Up Next
UMD will continue their road trip tomorrow afternoon with a pair of games against Upper Iowa in Fayette, IA.
