FIRST PITCH 
The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team (24-7 overall, 10-2 NSIC) will start the new week's festivities with a quick stop out in Bemidji, Minn. on Tuesday for two games against the Beavers. Start times are slated for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
Last week was a loaded one for the Bulldogs. 

UMD kicked things off with a Tuesday trip out to St. Cloud's dome for a doubleheader against Northern State. Game proved to be a sign of things to come for the Bulldogs, as they landed a 5-0 victory.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-UMD scored three of its runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-0 lead

-Kat Burkhardt hit her third home run of the season in the sixth to make it 5-0

-Lauren Dixon went the full seven innings, allowing just two hits compared to 12 strikeouts 
 

Game two proved to be a pretty similar story for UMD, as it took that one 5-1 to secure a sweep against NSU.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-A two-run fifth inning from the Bulldogs to open the game's scoring was followed by a three-run sixth to help secure the victory

-All three of those scores in the sixth frame came by way of a Kiana Bender home run, her fourth of the season

-Bender went 2-4 with two runs and three RBIs

-Mady Stariha went four innings, allowing just five hits and a single run

New team, new day, same location. On Friday, St. Cloud's dome would again host two neutral site battles, these between UMD and Concordia-St. Paul. What a start it proved to be for the Bulldogs, who took game one 11-1 in a five inning run rule affair. 

GAME DEBRIEF:
-UMD scored four runs in the second and three in both the third and fourth frames

-The Bulldogs out-hit the Golden Bears 12-4

-Kendal Jenkins went 2-3 from the plate, landing 3 RBIs and scoring a run herself

-Dixon gave up four hits compared to eight K's in five innings of work

Game two against CSP was a much different story. In what was a true nailbiter, the Bulldogs ended up persevering, taking the contest 3-2 and securing yet another series sweep.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-Burkhardt crushed her second homer of the week in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 1-1

-After giving up a run in the bottom of the sixth, UMD battled back with two of their own in the seventh to take its first lead of the game at 3-2

-Dixon would come in for the save effort in the seventh, allowing just one hit en route to a successful effort. 

-Allyssa Williams went 4.2 innings, allowing just three hits and one run

The Bulldogs' last stop of the week came in Mankato, where UMD squared up against Minnesota State for a Saturday matinee of a doubleheader. UMD ended up taking the first of what proved to be a tight series of games by a score of 3-1.

GAME DEBRIEF:

-The Bulldogs kicked things off with two runs in the fifth that were fortified by another score in the sixth.

-Nicole Schmitt went a perfect 3-3 from the plate, landing both a run and an RBI

-Dixon closed the deal on her second seven-inning win of the week, giving up four hits and a run vs 10 strikeouts

But the Bulldogs couldn't quite capture a perfect week of work, as the Mavericks were able to break through in game two to take a 3-0 victory.

GAME DEBRIEF:

-Sidney Zavoral went 2-3 from the plate in this one

-MSU's Kacy Nickerson went the full seven innings, allowing just four hits along the way

DOUBLE-DIGIT DUBS
That week-closing loss proved to be the end of what had become a 10-game winning streak for UMD. Better yet for the Bulldogs… all of those victories came in NSIC play. It's a streak that accounts for all of the wins in UMD's 10-2 conference record.

DIXON DOES IT AGAIN 
Yet another dominant week from Dixon led to yet another bit of NSIC recognition. For the second straight time, the junior pitcher was award the title of the conference's

pitcher of the week. It's the first time either a pitcher or a player has won their respective award in consecutive weeks this entire season. It makes sense, as Dixon allowed just 11 hits and one earned run compared to 30 total strikeouts across 20 innings of work. 

STATS STATUS REPORT
Zavoral leads UMD in cumulative batting average (.349) and is tied with Burkhardt for the team-high in RBIs (21). Bender leads the club in slugging (.634), runs scored (31) and hits (30). Bender's also hit the most triples, currently sitting at five on the year. Julia Gronholz has drilled the most doubles with nine. Bender, Burkhardt and Zavoral are tied for the team-lead in home runs at four.

On the pitching side of things, it's Stariha that leads the group in overall ERA with an impressive 1.08 mark. Dixon's 1.32 ERA is paired with team-best marks in opposing batting average (.162) and total strikeouts (124).

NATIONAL ACCLAIM
Speaking of Bulldog pitching… this group is among the best in the entire country.

UMD's overall team ERA of just 1.42 isn't just best in the NSIC- it's fifth in the entire country. That kind of number is made possible by someone like Stariha, whose individual ERA mark of 1.08 is good for 15th nationally. Then of course there's Dixon, who sits at sixth in nation in strikeouts per seven innings (10.3), 15th in hits allowed per seven (4.13) and 19th in shutouts (five). 

CATCHING UP WITH BEMIDJI STATE

LAST TIME OUT

This may be the first time UMD and BSU will meet in conference action, but it won't be their first time seeing each other at all. Back in February, the two squads clashed twice at (where else) St. Cloud's dome as part of the Kelly Laas Invitational. 

It's safe to say that the Beavers will be after a little revenge, as these first two encounters were all-Bulldogs. Game one on Feb. 11 went UMD's way in five innings by a score of 16-0.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-The Bulldogs did most of their work early, amassing nine total runs in the second inning alone

-Zavoral recorded a solo homer to open the scoring in that second frame

-Zavoral closed having gone 3-4 from the plate with three runs and three RBIs

-Elle Potts went 3-4 as well, landing two runs and three RBIs of her own

-Stariha secured the W, giving up two hits through three innings pitched

Game two on Feb. 12 didn't go much different for BSU. There, UMD ended up with a 13-2 win, this one also going just five frames.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-A five-run second inning followed by four more in the sixth made up the brunt of the Bulldogs' scoring

-Zavoral recorded yet another homer in this one, this one also being a solo shot in the second. 

-Williams got the win after going five innings and giving up just four hits and two runs.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
BSU entered that two-game stretch against UMD 2-0 on the year and left it an even 2-2. Since then, the Beavers have hovered around the .500 line. BSU is now 13-15 on the season. Despite having played 28 games, only six of BSU's contests have been part of NSIC play. The Beavers went 2-4 in those outings.

BSU is fresh off of a doubleheader split against Upper Iowa this past Saturday. The Beavers took game one 5-1 before falling 6-4 in game two.

THE BEST OF THE BEAVERS
Mariah Stevenson is the main name to watch at the plate for BSU. The sophomore infielder leads the team in batting average (.354) and slugging (.524) while being second in hits (29), runs (14) and RBIs (17). Alexa Christenson sits at the top of the charts in hits (30) and runs (17). 

It's been a dual operation for BSU at the mound. Kyla Damerow's led the charge in ERA (3.87) and opposing batting average (.315) while Stella Dolan's at the top in both strikeouts (52) and innings pitched (81.2). 

THE BROADCASTS
Catch all of the action from Tuesday's doubleheader live and free-of-charge through the NSIC Network at the link below:

vs Bemidji State (Tuesday, April 10 @ 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3ZRLXi5

UP NEXT
It's slated to be a big homecoming weekend for the Bulldogs, as they're set to play Upper Iowa in James S. Malosky Stadium on Saturday, April 15 (1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.) before making their Junction Ave. Field debut against Winona State on Sunday, April 16 (12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.)