FIRST PITCH
The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team (25-8 overall, 11-3 NSIC) will make its long-awaited home debut this weekend with doubleheaders against Winona State (Friday, April 13) and Upper Iowa (Saturday, April 14). Friday's first pitch times against WSU are set for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Saturday's contests against UIU are marked to start at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. All four games will be played at James S. Malosky Stadium.

SCHEDULE UPDATES
If that opener sounded a little off to you, it's probably because those contests don't match the ones that were listed on the schedule for around this time at the start of the year. The Bulldogs were originally slated to play the Peacocks on Saturday, April 15 and the Warriors on Sunday, April 16. The weekend's festivities were shifted up a day, and the opponents were flipped. Additionally, there will no longer be any games played at Junction Ave. Field for the weekend- all the action will be at Malosky.

LAST TIME OUT
UMD will make its home debut fresh off of its second-straight doubleheader split, this one coming against Bemidji State back on Tuesday, April 11.

The day's first game was heavy on defense all the way through, as it eventually closed with a final score of just 1-0. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, it was BSU that found itself on the right side of that score. 

GAME DEBRIEF:
-The lone run came by way of a Mariah Stevenson double in the bottom of the first
-Lauren Dixon went six innings for the Bulldogs, allowing just one run and a walk compared to 12 strikeouts
-Kyla Damerow allowed just three hits and a walk across seven innings for BSU
-Alexa Christenson went 2-3 from the plate and scored the game's only run
-There were just eight hits combined between both teams (5-3 in favor of BSU)

It looked like the backend of the doubleheader might end up finishing in similar fashion until scoring started to pick up late. Ultimately, UMD prevailed 4-2 in what proved to be an eight-inning affair. 
 
GAME DEBRIEF:
-Mady Stariha kept UMD alive through the first five innings, allowing just a single hit in that span
-Stariha closed with just one run, three hits and a walk allowed across six innings of work
-Kat Burkhardt was massive at the plate for UMD, going 3-4 with a run and two RBIs
-Burkhardt crushed what proved to be a game-winning, two-run double with two outs in the top of the eighth
-Hits were 7-5 in favor of UMD
-This was just the Bulldogs' second contest to go into extras all year, the other being an 8-5 win against Missouri Western State back on Feb. 4 that went 11 innings

OVERDUE RETURN TO DULUTH 
This weekend will mark UMD's first time playing at home in nearly a year, dating back to a doubleheader against Sioux Falls on April 24, 2022. The Bulldogs took game one against the Cougars that day 8-0 before securing the sweep with a 7-6 victory that went eight innings.

COMING ALIVE IN CONFERENCE PLAY
UMD finds itself fresh on the heels of what grew to be a 10-game winning streak, one ended by way of a 3-0 loss to Minnesota State back on April 8. The best part is… all 10 of those victories came in NSIC play. It's a hot streak that makes up the bulk of the Bulldogs' 11-3 conference record so far this season.

A DUO OF AWARDS FOR DIXON
On Monday, Dixon was named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week. It's the second straight time the junior's won the award. No doubt that Dixon deserved the addition to her resume; across 20 innings of work last week, she let up just 1 earned run and 11 hits compared to 30 total strikeouts. Along the way, the Sobieski, Wis. native compiled not just three wins but even a successful save bid. Not too bad for a four-game stretch.

A WEEKLY OCCURRENCE
Dixon's latest conference recognition now leaves the total tally of Bulldogs winning either the NSIC Player or Pitcher of the Week moniker at five. Alongside Dixon's wins, Allyssa Williams has also won the Pitcher of the Week title twice across this season. Sidney Zavoral is a one-time NSIC Player of the Week winner.

NATIONALLY NOTED
Last week, Dixon paired what proved to be the first of two NSIC Pitcher of the Week awards with the title of DII Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the the Week. The junior became the first Bulldog to ever win that exact award and just the fourth to earn kudos from the NFCA overall. Earlier this year, Elle Potts became the third player on that list when she won the DII Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week nod.

STATS STATUS REPORT
Zavoral leads UMD in overall batting average, working at a clip of .348. Kiana Bender holds team-highs in slugging (.600), runs (32) and triples (five). Burkhardt's at the helm when it comes to hits (32) and RBIs (23). Julia Gronholz has hit nine doubles, which leads the team. It's a three-way tie at the top between Bender, Burkhardt and Zavoral for home runs at four. 

At the mound, Stariha holds the lowest individual ERA at just 1.09 and the lowest WHIP of 1.03. Dixon's 10-3 record has been amassed by a 1.31 ERA and team-bests in opposing batting average (.166) and strikeouts (136). 

PITCHING PROWESS
UMD's bullpen is among the best in the entire country, and the numbers prove it. The Bulldogs' cumulative ERA of 1.43 is good for fifth in nation, their WHIP of 1.10 sitting at 22nd. Stariha's 1.09 ERA is 14th best nationally, Dixon's 1.31 sitting at 22nd. The duo sits at first and second in the NSIC in that category respectively. Dixon also holds nationally notable marks in strikeouts per seven innings (sixth at 10.5) and hits per seven innings (15th at 4.25).


SCOUTING REPORT ON WINONA STATE
THE SEASON SO FAR
It's been a resounding start to the Warriors' 2023 campaign, as they currently hold not only a 28-9 overall record but a nead-flawless 11-1 mark in NSIC play. That latter figure leaves WSU at a tie with MSU Moorhead for first in the conference.

The Warriors enter this weekend red-hot, with wins in each of their last eight contests. This includes two wins out in Concordia against the Golden Bears on Tuesday, contests WSU took by scores of 18-14 (yes, a real softball score) and 9-0. Abby Smith threw a no-hitter in game two.

WARRIORS TO WATCH
There are three main names to keep in mind at the dish for WSU. In terms of pure batting average, Savannah Serdynski leads the way, hitting .385 on the year. Abbie Hlas holds team-highs in runs (29), hits (51) and doubles (11). Perhaps the most dangerous bat of all is Carly Engelhardt, who's second on the team in batting average (.376), runs (28) and hits (44) while leading in slugging (.701), RBIs (36) and home runs (9).

A dynamic duo has done much of the work for WSU at the mound. Smith has been an ace, building her 13-3 record with a team-high ERA of 1.69 and a team-low opposing batting average of .238. Another familiar name in Hlas is the second pitcher to keep an eye on, holding an 11-4 record and a 2.63 ERA while holding hitters to a .275 mark. Hlas also leads the team in strikeouts with 62.

SCOUTING REPORT ON UPPER IOWA
THE SEASON SO FAR
UIU walks into the weekend with a 14-17 overall record and a 6-7 NSIC mark. Most recently, the Peacocks battled Minnesota State to a road split on Tuesday, losing game one 5-3 before taking the second game 6-4.

PREMIER PEACOCKS
Offensively, UIU presents a core quartet of players to watch out for. Laia Pelds leads the team in batting average with a .418 mark. Taylor Sedam tops the charts in slugging (.528) and home runs (three). Ari Charles holds team highs in runs (23) and hits (43) while Rae Van Milligan leads the way in RBIs with 24.

The main operator at the mound for the Peacocks so far this season has been Delaney Vetter. Across 18 total appearances and 12 starts, the junior's amassed a 5-5 record and 75 innings of work. Vetter holds an overall ERA of 4.57 and an opposing batting average of .272 to go with 73 total strikeouts.

KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED
Ari is a name to remember when it comes to baserunning, as she's one of the best in the business in that arena. Charles is fifth in the country in stolen base percentage at 0.967, 10th in stolen bases per game with .94 and 17th in total stolen bases at 29.

THE BROADCASTS
Livestreams of both of the day's doubleheaders will be available free-of-charge through the NSIC Network here. 

UP NEXT
Another full week awaits the Bulldogs after this hoco weekend. It's supposed to start back in Duluth, however, with a pair of games against MSU Moorhead on Wednesday, April 19. UMD then hits the road once again for a two-stop trip, starting with the Cougars in Sioux Falls on Saturday, April 22 and ending with a trek to Marshall to play Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday, April 23.