FIRST PITCH 

UMD softball (10-3 overall) will aid its efforts in braving the week's weather by heading to Rosemont, Ill. to take place in the Lewis Dome Invitational. It starts on Thursday, Feb. 23 with contests against Ferris State (6:00 p.m.) and Wayne State (Mich.) (8:00 p.m.) The Bulldogs then meet Parkside (11:00 a.m.) and Grand Valley State (1:30 p.m.) on Friday, Feb. 24. UMD will close its stay out east on Saturday, Feb. 25 with tournament host Lewis (1:30 p.m.) and Saginaw Valley State (3:30 p.m.)

LAST TIME OUT

UMD spent last week as part of the Emporia State Classic. Saturday, Feb. 18 proved to put an end to the Bulldogs' flawless start to their 2023 campaign, as they opened with a 4-2 loss against Oklahoma Baptist. Sidney Zavoral had kicked off the scoring in the top of the fifth with a hit that scored Nicole Schmitt and Corrie Weise, but a three-run counter by the Bison in the bottom of the inning followed by an insurance run in the sixth ended up sealing the deal. UMD met a similar fate against Newman later that same day, opening things up with two runs in the top of the third only to be geld scoreless the rest of the afternoon on the path to an eventual 5-2 loss.

Sunday saw the Bulldogs bounce back in a big way. It started with a contest against Missouri-St. Louis. Kiana Bender set the tone early with a solo shot in the top of the third to make it 1-0. Julia Gronholz would draw a walk with the bases loaded later in the inning to push the lead to two. In the top of the fourth, Kat Burkhardt would slam a triple that would score Weise to make it 3-0 Bulldogs. The Tritons would mount a late comeback bid, scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh to draw within a run. But a shutout inning from Lauren Dixon and company in the seventh helped seal a victory for UMD. Dixon allowed four hits and two runs through a complete game of 135 pitches. 

The Bulldogs followed this with another strong outings against Quincy. The top of the fourth saw UMD kick things off with four runs, two by way of a Zavoral single that brought in Burkhardt and Dea Deleon, another courtesy of a Gronholz double scoring Zavoral, and a final tally through a throwing error eventually bringing Gronholz home. A Burkhardt ground out in the top of the fourth would score Bender to make it 5-0, the game ultimately ending at a 5-1 score. Mady Stariha let up just three hits and one run through seven innings and 90 pitches. 

Then came a Monday-morning doozy against Northwest Missouri State to close out UMD's stay in Kansas. The Bulldogs jumped out to early control courtesy of a huge Zavoral homer that ended up giving UMD a 3-0 advantage in the top of the first. The Bearcats would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first, but Deleon would counter in the top of the second with a single to score Schmitt and make it 4-2 Bulldogs. In the top of the third, NWMSU was able to tie things up with two scores. Talk about a response- Burkhardt would go on to blast a grand slam to kick off the fourth inning and put her team up 8-4 halfway through the contest. Alas, it wasn't meant to be for the Bulldogs on this day. NWMSU would hold UMD scoreless the rest of the way while slowly chipping away at its deficit, eventually scoring a walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh to take it 9-8. 

STATS STATUS REPORT

Several names are behind what has been a force of a UMD offense through 13 games. One of them is Zavoral, who leads the team in home runs with four while working at a slugging percentage of .909 and an OPS of 1.350. Tied with Zavoral on the RBI front is Burkhardt, who pairs hers with a team-leading 15 hits. Elle Potts isn't far behind in the RBI race with 13. Gronholz leads the way on on- base percentage with .486 while Bender holds the team high in runs with 16.

It's an offensive unit that's made itself known nationally for its output. UMD holds the 16th best scoring average in the country at 7.46 runs a game. A large part of the formula- multiple-base hits. The Bulldogs are fourth in the entire nation in triples (top of the NSIC) with eight and 15th in the land in doubles with 26. A major culprit in those two fields has been Burkhardt, who stands at first in the country in doubles (six) and fourth in triples (three).

Mady Stariha holds standout numbers at the mound for UMD thus far this season. The senior boasts an ERA of 2.19 and a .232 opposing hitting average through 24.2 innings pitched and a 4-1 record. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON FERRIS STATE (1-4)

Ferris State started its season out in Smyrna, Tenn. as part of the Music City Invitational, where all its games thus far into the season were played. The (Ferris State) Bulldogs will enter their contest against the (UMD) Bulldogs on a two-game losing streak, those losses coming back on Feb. 19. FSU was shutout offensively in each of those contests.

It's been hitting by committee for these Bulldogs throughout the season thus far. Two FSU players are tied for the team lead in hits with five, those being Josie Prince and Kylie Winkels. Prince has an on-base percentage of .313 while Winkels pairs her hits with two RBIs, four runs and a slugging percentage of .412. Evelyn Blood leads the club in RBIs with five and holds a .400 on-base percentage/.462 slugging percentage.

On the mound, Aryn Gallacher has been the standout so far. The junior's given up 13 hits through 13.2 innings pitched, leaving her with a 3.07 ERA.

SCOUTING REPORT ON WAYNE STATE (MICH.) (13-34 LAST SEASON)

Wayne State will kick off its season in Rosemont as part of the Lewis Dome Invitational. The Warriors finished last season 13-34 overall and 6-22 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). WSU will have to maneuver a potential bounce back season without two of its standouts from a year before. Rainey Psenicka was huge for the Warriors offensively last season, generating 56 hits 21 RBIs and 76 total bases of production while working at a .503 slugging percentage and a .439 on-base percentage. And on the mound, Paige Ameel was a massive presence. Ameel worked 149.2 total innings, closing with a 2.99 ERA and an opposing hitting percentage of .249.

Rosemont will serve as a litmus test for who will rise to the occasion to fill these voids in the new season.

SCOUTING REPORT ON PARKSIDE (3-5)

Wisconsin Parkside also started the year out in Tennessee as part of the Music City Invitational. The Rangers returned home with just a 1-5 mark. However, the early goings of the Rosemont Dome Invitational have treated Parkside well- the team went 2-0 in its first day of competition in Illinois early on Thursday.

Casse Rutledge is a big offensive presence for the Rangers, working at an OPS of 1.192, a slugging percentage of .647 and an on-base percentage of .545 while creating five runs and four RBIs. She's tied for the team lead with Jadynn Powell in the RBIs department.  Taylor Delgado has also been a force at the plate for Parkside early on, tallying eight hits and six runs. 

Another duo stands out on the mound for the Rangers, starting with Kiley Akey. Through 18.2 innings pitched, Akey holds a 2.25 ERA while holding opposing pitching to just a .273 on-base percentage. Olivia Masnica's in possession of a 1.40 ERA through 10 innings pitched, having let up just three runs. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON GRAND VALLEY STATE (43-8 LAST SEASON)

Grand Valley State is looking for an encore of what was a successful 2022 campaign that saw it win the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional. The Lakers are projected to win the GLIAC this season, and when they're returning to NFCA All-Americans like Lydia Goble and Hannah Beatus, it makes sense.

 Goble was nothing short of a menace for GVSU at the plate, recording 79 hits on a .706 slugging percentage/1.214 OPS while bringing in 52 RBIs. Goble also worked at an on-base percentage of .508, scoring 50 times herself. And at the mound, Beatus was just as good. She closed the year with a 21-5 record composed of 172.2 innings pitched in which she had a .97 ERA and .87 WHIP while holding hitters to an average of just .155.

SCOUTING REPORT ON LEWIS (2-2)

Tournament-host Lewis is the only team across UMD's Invitational Slate that the Bulldogs have already seen this year. The two squads played each other in Mankato back on Feb. 4, UMD prevailing in that one 5-4. That's the last game the Flyers have played leading up to this week.

Delaney Garden's done good work for Lewis at the plate so far this year, clocking 10 hits on a 1.400 OPS/.733 slugging percentage while also working at a .667 OB%. Jadynn Powell's also been pretty noteworthy, holding an OPS of 1 227/slugging percentage of .727 while recording four RBIs and getting on base exactly 50% of the time herself. 

And on the mound, the name to watch for is… Gardens.

Yep- for a pitcher, Gardens sure can hit. But she's impressed at her defensive position so far this season, too. Gardens has pitched seven innings, and in them, she was nearly flawless. Just three hits given up, a .125 opposing hitting percentage, a WHIP of .57. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON SAGINAW VALLEY STATE (36-20 LAST SEASON)

Saginaw Valley State enters this season projected to finish second in the GLIAC, the Cardinals having won the conference's tournament title last year. Offensively, it'll be a pair of seniors that will help lead that effort. Sarah Gersch finished her junior year with 54 hits and a pair of doubles and triples to go along with a .401 slugging percentage. Jackie Popko had 45 hits, a whopping eight of those being doubles, while working a .504 batting average, a .493 slugging percentage and a .406 on-base percentage. 

It'll be a junior in Emily Depew that'll be big for the Cardinals' success at the mound. Depew closed her sophomore effort with a 15-10 record. In 143 innings pitched, Depew posted a 2.01 ERA.

UP NEXT

This week spells the last of UMD's tournament adventures. The next time we'll see the Bulldogs will be at the start of their NSIC slate in St. Cloud against the Huskies on Tuesday, March 28. The double-header will feature games at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.