FIRST PITCH 
The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team (34-9 overall, 20-4 NSIC) is gearing up to finish a successful 2023 regular season campaign on home soil with two doubleheaders in Duluth. The Bulldogs will take on Wayne State as part of both Senior Day and Green Bandana Day on Saturday, April 29 (1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.) before a huge season finale against Augustana on Sunday, April 30 (12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m)

LAST TIME OUT
UMD's coming off of a stretch that saw it play six games in a span of four days, kicking off with a four-game road trip.

It all started with a stop out in Sioux Falls to play the Cougars this past Sunday. The Bulldogs did a pretty good job of setting the tone, taking the first game of the doubleheader 6-1.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, UMD would land homers from Corrie Weise and Kendal Jenkins in the second and third innings to go up 3-1. The Bulldogs wouldn't trail the rest of the way.
-UMD out-hit USF 12-5
-Lauren Dixon went the full seven innings, allowing just one run and five hits compared to seven strikeouts

But game two proved to be a much tighter contest. Different equation, but the result still ended up being the same: a UMD win. The Bulldogs snagged this one late by a score of 5-4.4

GAME DEBRIEF:
-Over the course of the first four innings, UMD amassed a 4-0 lead
-A four-run fifth frame from USF would immediately tie things up
-Kat Burkhardt reaching on an error in the seventh would help to send Weise home to land UMD the win
-Mady Stariha worked four innings, allowing just three runs, three hits and a walk
-Allison Luoma went 1.1 innings, giving up a hit and a run
-Allyssa Williams closed the game with a 1.2 inning outing that saw her allow just a single walk

Next, UMD moved on to Marshall for a series against Southwest Minnesota State on Monday. Game one was a display of pure dominance on all fronts from the Bulldogs, as they'd end up winning 9-1 in just six innings.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-A five-run top of the sixth ultimately helped UMD trigger the run rule and end this one an inning early
-Kiana Bender's three-run homer sealed the deal, pushing the score from 6-0 to 9-0
-Hits were 10-3 in favor of UMD
-Bender went 2-4 from the plate with four RBIs and a run
-Nicole Schmitt went 2-3 with two RBIs and a run of her own
-Dixon went the distance once again, allowing three hits, two walks and no earned runs versus eight strikeouts

Once again, though, the day's second game gave UMD more trouble. This time around, the Bulldogs couldn't quite finish the job, as SMSU came out on top in a defensive battle by a score of 3-2.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-UMD fell behind early in this one, the Mustangs taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first
-The Bulldogs would tally runs in the fifth and sixth innings to tie things up before SMSU would walk it off with a single in the seventh
-Stariha pitched all 6.2 innings, giving up just one earned run, five hits and three walks

A well-earned 3-1 road trip from UMD was capped off with a well-earned stop back in Duluth on Wednesday. There, the Bulldogs met the Golden Eagles of Minnesota Crookston for two contests. This series bucked the trend, as game one ended up being the day's nail-biter. Ultimately, the Bulldogs were able to conjure up a successful comeback bid to take this one 6-4.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-The Golden Eagles took control early, their four-run third inning leaving them with a lead as high as three at 4-1. The score was 4-2 by the time the third frame was over.
- UMD would explode for four runs of their own in the sixth to snag a 6-4 advantage that it'd never give up
-Bender had another big game at the plate, going 2-3 with two RBIs and a run
-Dixon worked a complete game once again, giving up four runs, five hits and five walks across seven innings while gathering six strikeouts

Motivated by a huge effort in the first game, UMD took care of business in game two. The Bulldogs secured their first shutout of the six-game span, winning 6-0.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-Kat Burkhardt opened the scoring in this one with a solo home run in the bottom of the second
-Elle Potts would hit a homer herself in the bottom of the fourth to make it 2-0
-With help from another Bulldog run in the fifth, Burkhardt's second dinger of the game made it 4-0 UMD
-Burkhardt went 2-3 from the plate with two runs and two RBIs
-Srariha worked four innings, allowing only two hits
-Williams closed things out for the remaining three frames, also giving up just two hits

HOME COOKING
The Bulldogs haven't been able to play in Duluth often due to what's quite literally been a record-breaking winter, but when they have… they've been flawless.

Wednesday's sweep against UMC joins earlier sweeps against both Winona State and Upper Iowa back on April 15 to formulate a perfect 6-0 home record for UMD. The Bulldogs crushed the Warriors 10-0 before battling tooth-and-nail for a 10-inning 6-5 win. UMD defeated the Peacocks 9-0 in five innings before taking the second game (one that was unsurprisingly trimmed to five innings because of the weather) 10-4.

A TIE AT THE TOP
UMD's 20-4 conference mark currently leaves it at a tie for first place in the NSIC with a rather familiar name: Augustana. This means that the series between the Bulldogs and Vikings that will close out both of their seasons could very well determine the winner of the NSIC's Regular Season Championship. 

UMD's looking to win its first title this kind since 2013, when it was co-champions with Minnesota State. The Bulldogs would be looking to add to a trophy case that already holds an NSIC-best 14 regular season championships. 

Augie, meanwhile, would be looking to add to what could be a blossoming dynasty. The Vikings have been kings of the regular season for the last two years dating back to 2021. All five of Augie's regular season titles have come since 2010.  

IN THE HUNT
When the NCAA released its first numbered regional rankings on Wednesday, the Bulldogs made the cut. UMD landed at No. 8 in the first proper rankings after having been revealed as a team under consideration in an unranked, alphabetical list back on April 19. The Bulldogs are the only NSIC team to appear on the 10-team list.

A WEEKLY OCCURRENCE 
A Bulldog has taken home some kind of NSIC "of the week" accolade six total times this season. Dixon accounts for half of those wins on her own. The NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year didn't just take home the conference's Pitcher of the Week award three times- the wins all came in a row, a three-peat that spanned from April 4 to April 18. Williams has two Pitcher of the Week nods herself. Sidney Zavoral owns UMD's lone NSIC Player of the Week title so far this year.

STATS STATUS REPORT
Offensively, it's Bender that finds herself at the top of the most statistical fields for UMD. The junior infielder ranks first on the team in slugging (.636), runs scored (38), doubles (13) and triples (seven). Burkhardt leads the way in hits (43), RBIs (33) and home runs (seven). Schmitt holds a Bulldog-high batting average of .385. 

On the hill, Dixon takes the cake. The junior leads in ERA (1.24), opposing batting average (.166) and strikeouts (177) across a team-high 124.2 innings of work. 

PITCHING PROWESS
UMD's pitching rotation at-large is among the best in the entire country. The Bulldogs' cumulative ERA of 1.47 is not only the best in the NSIC but sixth in the entire country. It's bolstered by the individual ERAs of Dixon (1.24) and Stariha (1.149), which place at first and second in the NSIC respectively. 

Dixon is also nationally notable in a few other arenas, those being strikeouts per seven innings (seventh with 9.9), hits allowed per seven innings (11th with 4.16) and total shutouts (12th with seven). 

SCOUTING REPORT ON WAYNE STATE 
THE SEASON SO FAR
The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 12-36 overall record and a 7-18 mark in NSIC play. 

This past Tuesday, Wayne State finished its home slate with a pair of contests against Sioux Falls. The Cougars ultimately swept the day, defeating the Wildcats by final scores of 13-0 and 16-2 with both games going only five innings.

KEEPING UP WITH KIM
A name to know for WSC is Kim Vidlak. The fifth-year infielder/catcher leads the Wildcats in several key offensive metrics, including slugging (.620), runs (32), RBIs (33), doubles (11) and triples (eight). Vidlak also has a resounding lead in the total bases department at 103, almost 30 more bases than second place at 76. 

Outside of Vidlak, Riley Holmberg sweeps up most of the remaining honors, leading in batting average (.393) and hits (66). Lauren Laudick is the club's home run leader with six.

SCOUTING REPORT ON AUGUSTANA
THE SEASON SO FAR
As one can expect, Augustana's had itself a pretty strong 2023 campaign. Its 20-4 NSIC record (that's good for a tie for first in the conference) makes up the bulk of a 33-12 overall mark. 

A team that ended up giving the Bulldogs some trouble in SMSU ultimately did the same to the Vikings on Wednesday. The Mustangs were able to snag a game off of Augie in Marshall, taking the front end of the doubleheader 2-1. The Vikings rebounded with a 2-0 victory in game two.

LEADING THE CREW
A trio of Vikings top Augie's offensive charts. Torri Chute holds team-highs in batting average (.432) and doubles (16). Andrea Cain leads in runs (48), hits (66) and triples (six). But perhaps the most dangerous Viking of them all is Kennedy Buckman. The junior infielder pairs leading marks in both slugging (.871) and RBIs (55) with a total home run tally of 19 that's good for second in the entire nation. She's the reigning NSIC Player of the Week.

FEARED ACROSS THE SEVEN SEAS
Speaking of national success, Augie's enjoying a lot of that as a team when it comes to statistics. The squad's fourth in the country in both on-base percentage (0.443) and slugging percentage (.617). The Vikings land at seventh nationally in cumulative batting average (.358), total home runs (68) and home runs per game (1.51). All of this combines for a scoring offense that's eighth in the country, putting up 7.53 runs a game.

A PAIR OF ACES
Augie has relied heavily on a pair of pitchers to eat up most of the season's innings this year- and that formula's worked out pretty well.

Each brings something a little different to the table while maintaining overall stability. Take Hailey Houston, for example. The arm with the heaviest workload so far at 117.2 innings pitched, Houston leads the club with an ERA of 2.32. It's Lexi Lander that cleans up the rest of the accolades, leading the club in WHIP (1.21) and opposing batting average (.232). She's also the NSIC's most recent Pitcher of the Week- if you're keeping score, that means Augie swept the "of the week" field last week between Lander and Buckman. But Houston and Lander don't linger all that far from each other in any of these fields. Houston's WHIP is 1.40, and she's holding opposing hitters to a .238 mark in her own right. Lander's worked 112 innings, and her ERA is 2.94. One more decisive field is strikeouts, an arena Houston has Lander beat in 92 to 73. 

THE BROADCASTS
Can't make it out to Malosky? Don't sweat it! Follow all of the weekend's action live and free-of-charge through the NSIC Network by clicking the links below:
vs Wayne State (Saturday, April 29 @ 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.): https://bit.ly/3ACDZit
vs Augustana (Sunday, April 30 @ 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.): https://bit.ly/3VfzPqg

UP NEXT
Well… I suppose we shall see! UMD's locked up a spot in the NSIC Tournament- the question is where it will find itself in terms of seeding. Regardless, conference tournament festivities are set to kick off on Wednesday, May 3 in Rochester, Minn.