FIRST PITCH 
The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team (29-8 overall, 15-3 NSIC) are set to finally get back on the field in the form of a two-stop road trip that will bleed into next week. The Bulldogs first square off against Sioux Falls on Sunday, April 23 at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. before moving to Marshall to play Southwest Minnesota State on Monday, April 24 at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. UMD will then head back home on Tuesday, April 25 to play two against Minnesota Crookston, with first pitch times slated for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

TOP OF THE CHARTS
UMD enters this new slate of contests tied with Augustana for the top spot in all of the NSIC. The Bulldogs hold a better overall winning percentage than the Vikings, 78.4% compared to the 71.8% mark of Angie's 28-11 record. 

KEEPING UP?
It's been a while since we last spoke like this…more than a week, to be exact. That's because what has since become a record-setting winter has (predictably) done record-setting winter things, like causing a sea of reschedulings. UMD's home series against MSU Moorhead that was slated for Wednesday, April 19 got outright canceled. These doubleheaders against USF and SMSU? They were originally supposed to happen on Saturday and Sunday. 

LAST TIME OUT
That means the last games the Bulldogs played were part of their homecoming weekend last week.

What better way to kick off the festivities in Malosky than with a tough test in the form of Winona State, UMD's dance partner back on April 14. The Warriors entered the day as one of two teams ahead of the Bulldogs in the NSIC ranks- needless to say, these were some big games ahead. And UMD sure played accordingly in game one. Really, that's a bit of an understatement. An explosion from the Bulldogs' bats helped lead them to a convincing 10-0, five-inning statement of a victory.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-UMD did the brunt of its scoring in the first inning, where it put up six runs
-Four of those came by way of a Nicole Schmitt grand slam
-Sidney Zavoral and Corrie Weise also homered in this one, bringing the total tally to three
-Schmitt went 2-3 from the plate with five total RBIs
-Julia Gronholz closed a perfect 2-2 with two runs and an RBI
-Lauren Dixon got the win at the mound with just three hits allowed compared to six strikeouts through five innings
-Hits were 8-3 UMD

UMD would stay hot at the plate in game two, but this time around, WSU was able to dial up some answers. Enough of a response, in fact, to push this one to extra innings. What was only the Bulldogs' second game to make it extras ended up going 10 frames total. Turns out that's when Kat Burkhardt decided that enough was enough- a huge solo shot from the junior outfielder secured UMD a sweep of the day in walk-off fashion with a 6-5 game two W.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-The Bulldogs had one big inning once again, scoring five of their six runs in the second
-This included a two-RBI triple from Kendal Jenkins
-The Warriors would score twice in the third and three times in the seventh to force extra time
-Elle Potts and Cora Meier each went 2-4 from the plate with a run, Meier also recording and RBI
-Dixon came into this game in relief in the seventh inning only to get yet another win, going four frames while allowing just a hit and two walks.

It was a day that had healthy doses of both dominance and drama. Hope you like that formula, because a similar one was at play the next day against Upper Iowa.

Well… sort of. Game one against the Peacocks was quite reminiscent of the first contest against the Warriors, with the Bulldogs ultimately picking up a 9-0 win in just five frames.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-The Bulldogs opened the scoring with two homers, one from Jenkins in the first inning and another from Potts in the second
-UMD then did the rest of its offensive work in the third frame, where it rattled off six runs
-Potts' final statline was a 2-4 mark with two runs and four RBIs
-Burkhardt went 2-4 with two runs as well, also tallying two RBIs
-Dixon recorded win number three of the work in this one, allowing only two hits and two walks compared to 10 strikeouts in a complete five-inning effort

There was tension to be found in game two… but it was mostly at the hands of Mother Nature. What had been a rainy, chilly day all afternoon really reached its apex throughout this second battle. After a few sessions of deliberation (that took more than an hour overall), this one was called after five innings, with UMD ultimately taking a 10-4 win as a result. 

GAME DEBRIEF:
-UIU would take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first before UMD would secure a 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the frame
-After the Peacocks tied things up in the top of the second, the Bulldogs would take the lead for good in their turn up to bat with two scores (including a Potts homer) to make it 4-2
-The third inning did the trick for UMD once more in this game, as the team again scored six of its runs in that frame alone
-The innings festivities were started by a Julia Gronholz three-RBI homer that made it 7-2
-Schmitt went 2-3 from the plate with two runs scored
-Gronholz closed with a team-leading three RBIs
-Mady Stariha picked up the win, going the full five frames and allowing just four runs, six hits and three walks

DIXON DOES IT AGAIN
First, take the following into consideration in isolation: 

Dixon was named the NSIC's Pitcher of the Week last week. She earned the title for a 20-inning stretch of work that saw her amass three wins and 32 total strikeouts compared to just 11 hits and five walks. The junior allowed exactly 0 runs in this span.

Now, consider the fact that this was the third of what's become three-consecutive Pitcher of the Week nods for Dixon. In doing so, the Sobieski, Wis native became the first pitcher or player to win their "of the week" award three times in a row. She sure is on quite the run right now. 

A WEEKLY OCCURRENCE
Dixon's hat trick effort took UMD's total NSIC Award tally all the way up to six on the season. Joining the junior sensation on the pitching side of things has been Allyssa Williams, who's won the Pitcher of the Week moniker twice throughout her freshman campaign. The cherry on top is Sidney Zavoral's Player of the Week nod, which she earned back in February.

STATS STATUS REPORT
A trio of names combine to lead many of the stats in the hitting department for UMD. Schmitt sits at the top when it comes to pure batting average with a .362 mark. Burkhardt holds Bulldog-highs in slugging (.609), hits (37) and RBIs (29). Kiana Bender leads the way in runs (34) and triples (five) while sitting at a tie with Gronholz at No. 1 on the doubles charts with nine. Burkhardt and Zavoral are level in the home run battle with five apiece.

Across what has been a stellar pitching rotation for the Bulldogs so far this year (more on that later), Dixon has been a standout. The junior leads in ERA (1.14), opposing batting average (.164) and strikeouts (156) while holding both the most wins (13) and the most innings pitched (104.2).

PITCHING PROWESS
At-large, UMD's pitching group holds a cumulative ERA of 1.48. That's not just the best figure in the NSIC- it's sixth-best in the entire nation. 

Leading the charge in that department are Dixon and Stariha, whose respective ERAs of 1.14 and 1.61 are first and second in the NSIC. Dixon's is actually good for 17th in all the land. Speaking of Dixon, she's also nationally notable in terms of hits per seven innings (12th at 4.08), shutouts (11th with seven) and strikeouts per seven innings (seventh st 10.4).

SCOUTING REPORT ON SIOUX FALLS
THE SEASON SO FAR
Across the season at-large, USF's hovering right around the .500 line, sitting with a record of 18-19. When it comes to NSIC play, there's no"hovering" necessary: the Cougars sit at exactly 9-9 in that arena. 

USF's coming off of a mixed bag of a week. The Cougars swept their home series against Mary on April 17, winning both games by a score of 6-5. But things went differently out in Mankato, where USF was itself swept by Minnesota State, losing by scores of 4-1 and 4-3.

COMMENDABLE COUGARS
Two players pop off of the page for USF at the plate: Lexie Swift and Kait Van Der Zwaag. Swift leads the club in batting average (.360) and hits (41) and is tied for the team lead in runs with Rylie Jones at 27. Van Der Zwaag holds team highs in slugging (.587), RBIs (31) and home runs (seven). But don't count out the work of Kennedy Thomas and Kylie Madrid, who sit at a tie for the top in the doubles department with an impressive 13 two-base hits a pop.

The name to know at the mound for the Cougars is... well, one you're already familiar with. Van Der Zwaag supplements strong hitting with the role of USF's primary pitcher. The fifth-year right-hander holds an ERA of 3.53 and an opposing batting average of .277 across 116 innings of work that's amounted to a 12-6 record.

SCOUTING REPORT ON SMSU
THE SEASON SO FAR
SMSU heads into this weekend with a 12-25 overall record and a 7-11 mark in NSIC play.

 Last week spelled a series of splits for the Mustangs. SMSU took game one of its April 17 home doubleheader against Minot State 2-1 before dropping game two 3-1. The Mustangs then lost game one against the Golden Bears out in St. Paul on April 18 before rebounding for a 6-5, nine-inning win in game two.

KEEP NOTE OF NOEL
Jillian Noel's been a Mustang on a mission for SMSU so far this season. The junior third baseman leads the club in batting average (.315), slugging (.486), runs (25), hits (35) and doubles (eight). She's tied for the team lead in homers with Abby Russell at three.

MUSTANGS AT THE MOUND
In terms of pure workload, Karlie Miller takes the cake. The sophomore right-hander's worked 91.1 innings so far this season. Along the way, she's registered a 3.99 ERA and an opposing batting average of .304 while amassing 62 strikeouts. Statistically speaking, Allison Christians is a standout. The senior holds a 2.92 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .281 mark across 38.1 innings of work. She's also the lone Mustang with a winning record at 5-3.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
THE SEASON SO FAR
UMC currently holds a 15-25 record this year, going 3-12 thus far in NSIC play.

Back on April 19, the Golden Eagles split at home against Minot State, losing game one 3-1 before taking the second game 7-4. As we speak, UMC is out in Wayne, Neb. taking on the Wildcats. The Golden Eagles lost game one of the doubleheader 11-8.

ALL EYES ON AVALOS
The bat to know for UMC is Alina Avalos. The senior infielder holds team-highs in batting average (.394), slugging (.606), hits (43) and RBIs (35). She sits in a three-way tie for the lead in home runs with Dana Zarn and Shaelyn Grant at five.

HOUSER'S ON THE HILL
When it comes to UMC's pitching, watch out for Thayda Houser. The junior's operating at a team-leading ERA of 3.83 while holding opposing hitting to an average of .283 across 67.2 innings on the mound. 

THE BROADCASTS
Follow all of the action live and free-of-charge through the NSIC Network by clicking the links below:
vs Sioux Falls (Sunday, April 23 @ 2:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3UXina2
vs Southwest Minnesota State (Monday, April 24 @ 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3Akcqun

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will wrap up their 2023 regular season campaign with a staycation in Duluth. UMD first welcomes Wayne State for Green Bandana Day on Saturday, April 29 at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. The Bulldogs then close things out with two big ones against Augustana on Senior Day, with those games slated to start at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.