Rosemont, Ill.- The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team split its pair of contests in day two of the Lewis Dome Invitational on Friday, defeating Wisconsin-Parkside 3-0 before falling just short against No. 12 Grand Valley State 1-0. The Bulldogs head into a third and final day out in Rosemont with a 13-4 overall record.

Scoring proved to be at a premium in UMD's contest against Parkside to kick off the day- so it was massive that the Bulldogs got on the board first. It was Kiana Bender that made it home to give UMD the first run of the game at the tail end of the first, beating out a frame-ending double play to secure the tally. What followed was four shutout outings from Lauren Dixon to ensure the Bulldogs' one run was enough to keep them the lead.

Then came the bottom of the fourth, when that effort no longer proved as necessary. Elle Potts slapped a single out into right that scored both Julia Gronholz and Sidney Zavoral to make it 3-0 UMD. That doesn't mean that Dixon didn't continue with her lights-out pitching the rest of the way anyways, though. Through four innings, the junior had allowed just one hit. She'd go on to give up just one more across the last three frames while maintaining her shutout bid in the process. All of this paved the way for a 3-0 Bulldogs victory.

Offensively, Potts' two RBIs were a standout on the scoresheet. On the defensive end, the story of the game was Dixon. The Sobieski, Wis. native only let up a single walk to go along with those two runs through a full seven-inning, 93-pitch performance, all while amassing eight strikeouts in the process. It's the first time this season that any Bulldog pitcher's gone the distance without letting up a single run, the sixth time Dixon's done it in her career.

Runs were equally as scarce throughout game two against Grand Valley State shortly thereafter- only this time, the Bulldogs were beaten to the punch in terms of landing the first strike. A Morgan Wagner single in the bottom of the first ended up scoring Lydia Goble to put the Lakers up 1-0. Ultimately, this was the lone score of the entire contest on either side. Mady Stariha would pitch a shutout second inning that set the stage for five scoreless innings from Allyssa Williams. But the Lakers' pitching would be just as strong, as Hannah Beatus would work a no-hitter to ensure a 1-0 victory for GVSU.

ANSWERS FROM ANDERSON
It was a 1-1 effort from these Bulldogs on Friday, but all-told, it's been a 13-4 season. 

Even at a cursory glance, that record is enough to pop up the eyebrows. The more you examine it, though, the more impressive it gets- especially as of recently. 

For as much as on-field performance matters, external factors can cause an impact, too- and those aren't as easily corralled by a good game plan. UMD head coach Lynn Anderson's well aware of the recent forces that have caused the Bulldogs' last stretch of games to be all-the-more strenuous- and she knows how the 13-4 record that's still resulted reflects onto the team. 

"...It's even more impressive when you put this stretch of the season in perspective-weather changes last week pushing games a day later, weather adjusting our travel, and this invite starting a day earlier in the week, we're playing 11 games over the course of 8 days,"  Anderson said. "That's 11 different opponents to game plan for and all that without being able to have a practice since February 16th. So for us to still be having good success during this stretch is a testament to our team's tenacity."

Naturally, the most recent of those 11 opponents would be the No. 12 team in all of the country in GVSU.

At the end of the day, even in defeat, what the Bulldogs were able to pull off against such a talented squad is admirable. But this was far from a story of David vs Goliath, something that's been made evident through UMD's own play to open the year- including against the Lakers.

The prevailing feeling after playing GVSU wasn't one of intimidation- it was sustained confidence. Just ask Anderson.

"(GVSU's) a good team," Anderson said. "They've been successful for a while and currently rank #12 in the nation. To only give up five hits against them I believe shows that we are a high level team too. Grand Valley State was just able to string two hits together that equaled one run in the first inning. Then we held them the next six innings with strong pitching and defense. We didn't put anything together offensively today in that game, but I feel that if we were to play them again, it'd be a different story."
 

UP NEXT

UMD will reach the end of its early-season-tournament festivities with two more games in Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Bulldogs take on tournament-host Lewis at 1:30 p.m. before playing Saginaw Valley State at 3:30 p.m. Then comes to long wait for NSIC play to begin- that kicks off with a double-header in St. Cloud against the Huskies on Tuesday, March 28.