Sioux Falls, SD - Despite battling to overtime with the No. 12 team in the country, the Minnesota Duluth Bulldog softball team dropped a pair of games to the No. 12 Augustana University Vikings on Sunday afternoon in Sioux Falls, SD. With the two losses, the Bulldogs fall to 25-14 overall on the season and 20-8 in NSIC play.
Offensively, the Bulldogs were led by
Kelly Swank, who notched her fifth home run of the season in the second inning of game one. On the play, Swank also picked up her 24th RBI of the year. Across both games on Sunday,
Kiana Bender,
Emma Frost,
Sidney Zavoral and
Dea Deleon all noted two hits each. For UMD, their 6-0 loss in game two was just the first time they had been shutout since Saturday, April 9 against Minnesota State, Mankato.
On the mound, 5th-year senior
Sam Pederson gave the Bulldogs a solid outing in game one. In 7.2 innings of action, Pederson held the Vikings to just seven hits and 2 runs, while also posting four strike outs. With the loss, Pederson falls to 12-4 overall on the season. Game two saw both
Lauren Dixon and
Mady Stariha take the mound for UMD. Dixon would pick up the loss and fall to 16-7 on the season.
The series between the Bulldogs and Vikings was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, April 30 . However, inclement weather on Saturday in the Sioux Falls, SD forced the double header to played on Sunday afternoon.
Game One: 2-1 Loss (Eight Innings)
The Bulldogs came out determined to make a statement in game one. Following a scoreless first inning, Swank labeled her fifth homer of the season in the top of the second to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead. The home run for Swank was a blast to dead center field and helped UMD to an early advantage. Minnesota Duluth then looked to their 5th-year pitcher Pederson to shutdown the Vikings offense. Pederson would do her job and eliminate any Augustana threat through the first six innings. In both the top of the fifth and sixth innings, the Bulldogs would manage to get runners to second and third. However, timely pitching for the Vikings would stand the UMD runners. The Bulldogs would take a 1-0 lead to the bottom of the seventh. Down to their final out, the Vikings would tally an RBI single to score a runner from third base and send the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth, a costly error on the Bulldogs would result in the winning run crossing the plate. No. 12 Augustana took game one by a score of 2-1 in extras.
Game Two: 6-0 Loss
Following a tough extra innings loss in game one, the Bulldogs could never get going in game two. Two early runs for the Vikings would put the Bulldogs in a 2-0 hole after the first two innings. After UMD failed to plate a run through four innings, Augustana broke the game open with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Vikings added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to blank UMD 6-0 in the series finale.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will look to rebound tomorrow afternoon in an NSIC double header against the Wayne State College Wildcats. First pitches from Wayne, Neb. are set for 12:00 & 2:00 PM CT.
