Ten runs and a stellar pitching performance from
Lauren Dixon in game one, helped the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to a series split with the Upper Iowa Peacocks on Saturday afternoon in Fayette, IA. The Bulldogs earned a 10-1 victory in the series opener, before dropping game two by a score of 14-6. With their conference record of 12-6, the Bulldogs currently occupy fifth place in the NSIC standings.
Offensively, the Bulldogs were led by 5th-year senior
Jordyn Thomas, who noted a grand slam and five RBIs on the day. Within the conference, Thomas ranks eighth in RBIs with 34 on the year, and seventh in home runs with nine. For UMD, it's grand slams on back-to-back days after
Kat Burkhardt launched a four RBI homer of her own on Friday at Winona State. Additionally, multiple Bulldogs chipped in two RBIs each across both games on Saturday, including
Kelly Swank, De Deleon,
Nicole Schmitt and
Cora Meier.
On the mound, Minnesota Duluth received another fantastic outing from the sophomore Dixon. In five innings of action on Saturday, Dixon limited Upper Iowa to just four hits and one run. The victory gives Dixon am 11-6 overall record on the season. In game two,
Sam Pederson,
Christin Hartman and
Mady Stariha all made mound appearances for the Bulldogs. Ultimately, Pederson took the loss after surrendering seven runs on seven hits during Saturday's game two. With the loss, Pederson falls to 10-3 overall on the year.
UMD built off of their 10-7 game two win at Winona on Friday with a dominating 10-1 victory in game one on Saturday. In the top of the first, a single by Swank, followed by an error by the Peacocks right fielder would allow
Kiana Bender to score and Swank to get to second. During the very next at-bat, Thomas delivered a double to right center field to score Swank and give the Bulldogs an early 2-0 advantage. After Upper Iowa cut the lead to 2-1, neither side would plate a run through the second and third innings. In the top of the fourth, an explosive five-run inning for Minnesota Duluth would break the game open. With two runners on, Schmitt would notch a two RBI double down the right field line to extend the lead to 4-1. A few batters later, two more runs would score off of a throwing error by the UIU shortstop, making it a 6-1 game. UMD wasn't done in the inning just yet. Swank would tally a single and her second RBI of the day to score Deleon and make it 7-1 in favor of UMD. Three more runs for the Bulldogs in the top of the fifth would seal a 10-1 win in game one.
An absolutely wild game two begin with the Peacocks grabbing a 5-0 lead in the first two innings of the game. After plating ten runs in game one, UMD's offense would be kept off of the board through the first four innings of game two. However, in the top of the fifth, the Bulldogs would break through in a big way. RBI singles from Swank and Deleon gave the Bulldogs life and cut the Upper Iowa advantage to 5-2. Then with the bases loaded, Thomas launched a grand slam over the fence in right center to ignite her team and give UMD their first lead of game two. The home run for Thomas would be the 51st of her collegiate career. However, seven Peacock runs in the bottom of the fifth, followed by two more in the bottom of the sixth would stun the Bulldogs and cap off a 14-6 UIU win in game two.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will close out their six-game road trip on Wednesday against the Dragons of MSU-Moorhead. First pitches are scheduled for 2:00 & 4:00 PM CT in Moorhead, Minn.
