FIRST PITCH
The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team (14-5 overall) will end its month-long break from competitive action in a big way, kicking off NSIC play with stops in St. Cloud, Minot and Bismarck. It all starts with a doubleheader rematch against the Huskies, with first-pitch times slated for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. UMD then welcomes a new month with contests against Minot State on Saturday, April 1 at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. This first leg of conference action ends with two games against the Marauders on Sunday, April 2, those also set to start at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
Speaking of shifting months, the last time we saw the Bulldogs take the field was back in February. 

That's when UMD shipped out to Rosemont, Ill. to take part in the Lewis Dome Invitational. It was a non-conference tournament swansong that saw a strong story from the Bulldogs. UMD opened its slate of the tourney on Feb. 23 with a tight 2-1 win against Ferris State, one that saw Kiana Bender and Julia Gronholz score. Allison Luoma snagged the win in that one, going three innings while allowing just a single hit and walking just one batter. Then came the day's second game against Wayne State, an all-out offensive explosion. A three-RBI triple from Bender in the top of the fourth firmly opened the door, leaving the score at 5-0. From there… the hits just kept on coming. A three-run fourth was followed up by a five-run fifth. That, combined with a shutout effort from Allyssa Williams in the bottom of the frame, was enough to secure UMD the mercy-rule victory. Mady Stariha was credited with the win in this one, giving up three hits across three innings pitched. 

It was a different story the following afternoon on Feb. 24, as both of the day's contests proved to be true defensive battles. Against Parkside, UMD opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a single run- that ended up being all it would've taken to win this one. Two more runs would flow in at the bottom of the fourth to help seal the deal, though, the final being 3-0 UMD. While the Bulldogs were able to muster up seven hits across the contest, the Rangers tallied just two. That's due in large part to a pitching gem from Lauren Dixon, who went all seven innings in this one and allowed just two hits and a walk compared to eight strikeouts. Offense ended up being at even more of a premium in the day's next game against then-No. 12 Grand Valley State. The Bulldogs did good work to hold GVSU to just a single run through seven innings, but UMD wasn't able to generate a score of its own in that time. Hannah Beatus was lights-out for the Lakers, tallying 11 strikeouts across a complete seven-inning effort. 

Feb. 25 opened with sharp contrast. UMD's bats were hot against tournament-host Lewis, as UMD tallied 11 total hits that scored four runs. Three different Bulldogs went 2-3 from the plate, those being Corrie Weise, Nicole Schmitt and Sidney Zavoral. Weise also generated two RBIs and scored a run herself. All-the-while, a pitching duo of Luoma and Williams held the Flyers scoreless, locking in a 4-0 victory. Luoma got the win for giving up just a hit and a walk on four innings of work, while Williams was credited with a save for allowing the same production across three innings. Ultimately, though, tournament habits prevailed in the day's closing game against Saginaw Valley State. A solo homer from Weise in the top of the third wasn't enough for the Bulldogs to overcome two second-inning runs from the Cardinals, who ended up winning this one 2-1. All-told, UMD closed its stay in Illinois with a stout 4-2 record. 
 

STATS STATUS REPORT
A trio of names have taken over the stat sheet for the Bulldogs so far this season. Bender leads the way in hits (19) and multiple-base hits (12). Zavoral's at the top of the charts for batting average (.375), OPS (1.131), RBIs (16) and slugging percentage (.708) with 18 hits of her own. Kat Burkhardt also has 18 hits, generating 15 RBIs in the process. 

It's been a strong overall pitching committee that's helped UMD get to where it's gotten so far this year. None of the four Bulldogs that have seen playing time at the mound currently hold a losing record. The overall ERA between the four of them is just 2.47. A few individual figures stand out, though. Across 15 innings, Luoma has yet to give up a single run. In fact, she's only let up seven hits at all. Luoma's holding opposing hitters to just a .137 batting average. Stariha's ERA is just 1.82 through 34.2 innings pitched. Dixon's worked the most innings of any Bulldog at 42.1, but she holds the second-lowest opposing batting average mark at .187. 

As a unit, UMD maintains a tight operation out in the field. The Bulldogs hold the eighth-best fielding percentage in the entire country at .976.
 

STARS OF THE NSIC
True NSIC competition may not start until Tuesday for the Bulldogs, but they already have some reason for optimism in terms of how they stack up with the rest of the conference field. 

It definitely checks out at an individual level. In three of the four weeks that UMD's been eligible to have a player earn an accolade, a Bulldog has taken home some kind of NSIC Player/Pitcher of the Week. Williams has already earned the pitching honor twice this season, while Potts won the Player of the Week moniker for her efforts in that St. Cloud Invitational. Potts also ended up being crowned the DII Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week that same week. 

But it works at a macro level, too. When it comes to winning percentage, UMD currently sits right atop the conference with a .737 mark. 
 

NOSTALGIC NUMBERS
If UMD's 14-5 record seems familiar to you at all, it's not just your brain messing with you- it's the exact same mark the Bulldogs held through 19 games last season. UMD ended up doing pretty well for itself from this point onwards in 2022, finishing out the campaign by going 25-9 the rest of the way to close at 39-16.
 

CATCHING UP WITH ST. CLOUD STATE

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
If UMD can pull off anything like what it was able to accomplish against the Huskies the last time the two squads met, then the Bulldogs will leave St. Cloud pretty happy.

That last encounter came back on Feb. 12 in the midst of a non-conference tournament that saw St. Cloud (and its dome) playing host. Away from home? No problem. UMD's offense started to soar in that one, sparkplugged by a Zavoral home run right at the top of the first to make it 4-0. It didn't stop there- it was Elle Potts' turn next, as her three-run shot made it 7-0 in the top of the third. Why not another? The very next inning, Potts crushed her second homer of the game to drive in three more runs and make it 11-0. The Huskies would be able to put one run on the board, but that'd be all. UMD would end up winning 11-1 in five innings. Potts closed the game with a whopping six RBIs all on her own. Meanwhile, a pitching committee of Luoma, Dixon and Stariha gave up just four hits and three walks combined.
 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
That loss left SCSU at an even mark of 2-2. Since then, the Huskies have played well above the .500 line, going 13-8 to sit with an overall mark of 15-10. In terms of winning percentage, that leaves SCSU at sixth in the NSIC right now. And with the way they're playing heading into conference action, the Huskies might be poised to sit at a higher position in the actual NSIC standings. SCSU's won its last four contests going into Tuesday, including both a 13-0 win against Bemidji State and a 12-2 victory against Parkside. 

Helping to lead the charge for the Huskies' recent success has been Jasmin Estrada. The graduate infielder had a strong outing from the plate two weeks ago, posting an 8-16 mark that included five extra base hits, three of those being homers. Along the way? Estrada brought in 11 total RBIs to go along with seven runs. It was an effort that was good enough to land her NSIC Player of the Week honors.

Across the season at large, though, another name reigns supreme: Sydney Trees. The fellow graduate infielder leads the club in batting average (.417), OPS (1.139), on-base percentage (.528) and total runs (23). She's tied with Raven Vanden Langenberg in the runs department. Trees is also tied with Estrada for second in total hits with 30- each of them sits right behind Holly Wienberger's mark of 31. Estrada cleans up the rest of the field from there, leading in slugging percentage (.638) and total home runs (five). At the mound, Trinity Junker's been huge for the Huskies. Across the 70 innings of her 9-3 record, Junker's posted a 2.7 ERA, a WHIP of 1 and an opposing batting average of just .192.
 

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINOT STATE
The Beavers closed their non-conference slate with a 13-9 record, which puts them at seventh in the NSIC in terms of winning percentage. But that mark doesn't really tell the full story. It's been a struggle for MSU away from Minot, where the club jolts just a 2-8 mark. At home, though. the Beavers have been nearly unbeatable- and since there's a Dome in Minot, quite a few games have been played there. MSU is an impressive 11-1 on its home soil. That includes the four-game winning streak the Beavers walk into this week with, all of those victories coming against Regina across two doubleheaders.

Three batters stand out on the stat sheet for MSU. Gabi Dawyduk is tops on the team in both hits and runs with 20. Taryn Benett's posted an impressive mark of eight doubles thus far this season. And in the more nitty-gritty fields, Paige Kellogg sits at the top. Kellogg leads the club in batting average (.421), slugging percentage (.737) and OPS (1.204). Honorable Mention to Brooklyn Morrison, who holds a team-leading 17 RBIs.

When it comes to pitching… it turns out UMD will have to face some of the strongest players the NSIC has to offer in the very first week of conference action. That's because the Beavers are led at the mound by recent NSIC Pitcher of the Week Reegan Floyd. The sophomore posted a no-hitter two weeks ago, striking out 13 of 17 batters in the process. On the season, Floyd's operating at a 4.23 ERA to go along with a 1.58 WHIP and a .281 opposing batting average through 46.1 innings pitched. It's a smaller sample size, but the player that holds the best numbers in most of those fields is a name we've already seen before: Dawyduk. Through 17 innings, the junior holds a 2.06 ERA and a .254 opposing batting average.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MARY
Mary will look to conference action as a chance for a fresh start, as the end of non-conference play left the Marauders with a 5-14 overall mark. Based on winning percentage, that leaves Mary at 15th in the NSIC.

Four names have served as bright spots for the Marauders when it comes to offensive production. Janelle Bergman leads the team in batting average (.432), on-base percentage (.533) and OPS (1.019). Brooke De Jonge leads the way in both hits (18) and runs (12) on a Marauder-high .553 slugging percentage. It's a two-way tie in the RBI department between Sarina Perez and Francesca Villaneda, who each have 12. 

At the mound, Nicole Eckhardt's been the go-to for the Marauders so far. The junior's earned all four of Mary's victories on the season. She holds an ERA of 5.96, a WHIP of 1.93 and an opposing batting average of .305 across 54 innings of action.

THE BROADCASTS
Catch all of this week's action live through the NSIC Network by following the links below:

vs St. Cloud State (Tuesday, March 28 @ 1:00 p.m./3:00 p.m.): Game 1- bit.ly/3JNCYIv   Game 2- bit.ly/40o4Rhu
vs Minot State (Saturday, April 1 @ 12:00 p.m./2:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3zch6Ss
vs Mary (Sunday, April 2 @ 12:00 p.m./2:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3ZkEQ1a
 

UP NEXT
Who's ready for a homecoming? UMD's scheduled to play its first home games of the season on Wednesday, April 5 when it takes on Northern State in a doubleheader, with games slated to start at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. The Bulldogs then jump right back on the the rest of the week. UMD will stop in St. Paul on Saturday, April 7 for games against Concordia (12:00 p.m./2:00 p.m.) before heading to Mankato to play Minnesota State on Sunday, April 8 (12:00 p.m./2:00 p.m.)