The University of Minnesota Duluth Baseball team collected the split in Saturday's double header games, beating Tiffin 11-3 in the first and losing 14-4 in the second. UMD moves to an overall record of 1-2 as they move forward into the season. 

Game 1: 

The Bulldogs struck first with a Tim Pokornowski double to get the game started. Pokornowski would then advance into scoring position and Trevor Gufstason notched the RBI as Pokornowski scored. 

UMD kept their momentum up throughout the second inning, scoring two more runs to extend their lead to 3-0. The Dragons struck back in the bottom of the second when they scored their first run off a homerun. The Bulldogs remained steady heading into the fourth, and notched yet another run from freshman Thomas Hanson bringing the lead out to 4-1. 

The Bulldogs kept their offensive streak going, scoring three more runs at the top of the fifth. Jack Puder and Alex Wattermann notched their first RBIs of the day, Hanson would increase his RBIs to two on the day. Tiffin attempted a late comeback in the seventh inning but fell short, giving the Bulldogs their  first victory of the season, 11-3. 

Defensively the Bulldogs looked sharp only allowing three runs on the day. Senior Brayden Buttweiler would take the win, having pitched 5.1 innings and notching seven strikeouts on the day. 

Game 2:

This time around it would be Tiffin who got the jump on the Bulldogs, taking an early 2-0 lead in the first. The Bulldogs brought it within one thanks to another Jack Puder RBI, but UMD's rally would be short lived as Tiffin would turn a double play to end the inning. The Bulldogs couldn't keep up with tiffin defensively for this game as Tiffin would continue to find the gaps. Tiffin went on to score three runs in the third which extended their lead 5-3. 

UMD kept themselves in the ball game with a two run inning in the second. Michael Gabbard and Gabe Richardson would start the inning off with base runners and set up Thomas Hanson for the RBI, which scored the first of two on the inning. Austin Gordon notched a double late in the inning, leading the way for Pokornowski to pick up the RBI off a single to right field. 

The Bulldogs kept their fight through the game, but it wasn't enough to out score the Dragons. From here the dragons pulled away from the Bulldogs and ended the game 14-4.

Up Next:

The Bulldogs continue their spring break in Florida with games four and five taking place at 9:30 am and 4:30 pm Sunday, March 5th. The Bulldogs will take on West Virginia Wesleyan and Lewis University.