The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team continued to prove their skills with another pair of wins as they defeated Lewis University 5-4 and Missouri Western 8-5 in extra innings on Saturday in Mankato, Minn. Their weekend sweep moves them to 4-0 overall on the season. 

"What an incredible way to start our season. Poise and resiliency definitely defined us this weekend. This weekend showed we can win many different ways and it's always tough to beat a team like that," said head coach Lynn Anderson. "Our entire pitching battery came up big all weekend for us in multiple ways. Our defense made big plays as well. Discipline at the plate is a focus of ours and overall we did extremely well in that area. We'll continue to work on that in practice as we head into week two."

On the day
Junior Corrie Weise and Kat Burkhadt led the Bulldogs with three RBIs, Weise with a home run in game one. Freshman Allyssa Williams commanded the circle in both games, finishing with two wins on the day
 
Game One: 5-4 Victory over Lewis University
The Bulldogs started game one with a defensive challenge, as the Flyers would put up four runs in the first inning. Mady Stariha secured the first outs of the game with a grounder to shortstop and a strikeout, but the Flyers would go on to score two more runs before the Bulldogs were able to clinch the third out.  

The Bulldogs would continue to go back and forth with the Flyers until the fourth inning when Burkhardt singled to shortstop, putting a spark in the UMD offense. Nicole Schmitt would then collect a double putting two runners in scoring position, but the hero of the Inning, Corrie Weise, blasted a two run homer to center field. The Bulldogs tied up the ball game in the fifth inning with a Weise walk, good for her third RBI of the afternoon. 

Allyssa Williams stayed strong on the mound for the Bulldogs in the seventh, securing outs to shortstop, firstbase, and second base. Offensively the Bulldogs were kickstarted by freshman Ava Johnson with a double to left center. Burkhardt grounded to second base, advancing Johnson to scoring position on third. Sidney Zavoral would drive home a win with a walk-off sacrifice bunt, scoring Johnson and winning the ball game 5-4. 

Game Two: 8-5, extra inning,  Victory over Missouri Western
The Bulldogs struck first in game two with a Zavoral RBI which scored Bender to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Lauren Dixon would get the start on the mound for the Bulldogs and was able to keep the Griffons off the board until the second inning when Missouri Western's offense scored two. The Bulldogs were able to notch two more runs in the fourth inning with a Kelly Swank and Elle Potts RBI to lead by two, but the Griffons would answer with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Bulldogs would stay tied 4-4 with the Griffons until the 9th inning when Johnson doubled to left field and later scored thanks to a Burkhardt single. Missouri Western answered back with a run of their own, which brought the game to the tenth inning and officially to International tie breaker rules. Despite runners on base, the Bulldogs would come up short and remain tied 5-5 with the Griffons heading into the eleventh. 

Dea Deleon would lead off the inning with a sacrifice bunt and advancing the Bulldog's runner to third. Bender dropped a shot to the deep infield for the RBI and took the first lead of the game since the ninth inning. Burkhardt would go on to score two more runs for the Bulldogs and lead Missouri Western 8-5. UMD would hang on to the lead and win 8-5 after 11 innings of play. 

Up Next
The Bulldogs will be back next weekend for another set of non-conference dome games, this time in St. Cloud, Minn. They will open the St. Cloud invite against University of Mary and Bemidji State on Friday February 11 at 3:00 pm and 5:30 pm.