Duluth, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team finally fell at home for the first time this season when it was defeated by Augustana in both games of the two teams' doubleheader on Sunday, the Vikings picking up wins by scores of 17-4 and 16-11. The losses spell the end for UMD's regular season campaign, the Bulldogs concluding with a 36-11 overall record bolstered by an impressive 22-6 NSIC mark that was good for a second place finish in the conference. 

The Vikings started things off in a hurry. Taking early advantage of the heavy winds, Torri Chute rifled a three-run homer over the fence to open the scoring. A Sydney Herbert single would drive in another run to make it 4-0 Augie heading into the bottom of the first. UMD was able to answer there courtesy of a Kelly Swank double that scored Kiana Bender to make it 4-1 after one frame. 

But in the second, Augie was able to maintain its initial pace. This time, it was death by doubles. The first came from Delaney Young to make it 6-1 Vikings. Shortly thereafter, with two outs on the board, Herbert would strike with a double of her own to push the score to 8-1. 

This would be the end of Augie's scoring in the second, but it'd get right back to business in the third. That's where Gracey Brink connected on a solo shot that made it 9-1 Vikings. Ultimately though, the Bulldogs would be able to put up some runs of their own in the frame, too. Predictably, this included some power hitting. Sidney Zavoral landed her second homer in as many days, a two-run swing that brought UMD within six at 9-3. Julia Gronholz then tallied an RBI triple to trim another run off that deficit at 9-4. 

But the Vikings' bats stayed hot in the fourth in spite of the cold weather. First, an Andrea Cain flyout drove in a score to make it 10-4. Singles from Brink and Chute then combined for three more RBIs to push the lead to nine at 13-4. And so the trend would continue in the fifth, where Augie brought home four more runs (capped off by a three-run homer from Abby Lien) to leave things at 17-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth. There'd be no miracle for the Bulldogs, who'd fall by that same score of 17-4 after five innings as a result of the run rule. 

Both Zavoral and Gronholz closed the game having gone 2-3 from the plate. Zavoral amassed a run and two RBIs along the way, Gronholz one RBI. For the Vikings, Chute went 4-5 with two runs and five RBIs. Gracey Brink also had a big game, going 4-5 herself with four runs and three RBIs. Hailey Houston secured the win at the mound, allowing seven hits and four runs compared to seven strikeouts in a complete five innings of work. Lauren Dixon was saddled with the loss, going 3.2 innings. 

The stage was set for a winner-takes-the-NSIC game two.

After a not-so-quick start in a literal sense due to weather concerns, Augie's bats were indeed quick to get to work again in the first frame. The Bulldogs were able to better limit the damage this time around, though. Lien's homer that opened the scoring was just a solo shot supplemented by just one more run from an Ashton Dorman double to leave the Vikings with a 2-0 lead. Talk about a way to respond- in the bottom of the frame, Kiana Bender leveled a home run of her own to trim the Bulldog deficit in half at 2-1. Mady Stariha was able to get out of a two-on situation in the top of the second without any more runs, but Augie's bats couldn't be contained forever. In the third frame, Chute connected on her second homer of the day to push the Viking lead back to two at 3-1. Yet UMD just kept responding right back. With the Bulldogs down to their last out in the bottom of the inning, Corrie Weise rocketed one over the fence to again put UMD within a run of knotting things up.

The Vikings had much different plans, as evidenced by the top of the fourth. Augie was the first to strike on a multi-run homer, this one a three-score blast from Brink that made it 6-2. A little later, the Vikings would do it again. Young's first home run of the day brought in three more to leave the score at 9-2 Augie.  It's here that UMD made a change at the mound, with Allyssa Williams tagging in in place of Stariha. The freshman's first piece of business was snagging two-straight outs (including a K) to stop the bleeding and get UMD into the bottom of the fourth. 

It was a group of Bulldog bats that had already proven an ability to keep good pace with the Vikings in this second game, but this would be its biggest challenge yet. Difficult… but not impossible. The road started with Zavoral stealing home to make it 9-3 Augie. Next, Elle Potts joined the party, her two-run moonshot scoring herself and Burkhardt to make that 9-5. Soon enough, the Bulldogs were able to load the bases with only one out- and they slowly reaped the benefits. A Weise single scored Nicole Schmitt before a hit from Zavoral brought both Bender and Dea Deleon home. All of the sudden, 9-2 became 9-8. Six Viking runs were immediately met in kind with six from the Bulldogs. 

What followed was a strong inning of work from both of the game's pitchers. Williams allowed just one hit across four batters faced in the top of fifth while Augie's Helene Craig landed a 1-2-3 bottom frame. Once again, though, the Vikings wouldn't be held scoreless for long. Speaking of scoreless, Kennedy Buckman entered the sixth without a hit to her name across the entire day to that point. An oddity, given that the senior infielder came into this doubleheader with 19 total home runs on the year. Her first hit against the Bulldogs made it 20, a three-run shot that gave Augie a 12-8 lead. 

UMD would use the bottom of the sixth to start climbing the four-run hill, as a Bender hit sent Deleon in to score to make it 12-9. But this is all the Bulldogs would get off of Houston, who was now pitching in her second-straight game, this time in relief. And in the seventh, the Vikings would again build some distance. Singles from Chute and Dorman sandwiched a double from Young to combine for four more Augie runs that left the score at 16-9.

This left UMD the bottom of the seventh to come up with seven runs. There was reason to believe the Bulldogs could pull something like this off- just look back to the fourth inning as an example. Or look back at UMD's entire season to this point, really. Even with the team down to its final out, when Deleon connected on a single to score Burkhardt… couldn't help but dream. Bender scored Schmitt, and you really started to lean forward in your seat. It's a real testament to just how strong this team has been all season to produce that kind of feeling in a situation like this one. UMD was playing for an NSIC Title for a reason, after all. Unfortunately though, on this day, the Bulldogs would come up just short. Houston secured a lineout on the next at-bat to finalize the game at 16-11 and earn the Vikings their third-straight conference championship.

The Bulldogs went out swinging- and it shows. Several players stand out on the stat sheet when it comes to their work at the plate. Bender went 3-4 with two runs and three RBIs. Weise wasn't far behind, going 4-5 with a run and two RBIs. Zavoral and Schmitt each went 2-4, Zavoral landing a run and two RBIs and Schmitt scoring twice. There was the homer from Potts, too. But the Vikings were just as up to the task. Chute went 4-5 with four runs and two RBIs. Brink and Lien went 3-5, Brink tallying two runs and two RBIs and Lien three runs and an RBI. Dorman closed also at a 3-5 mark with a run and two RBIs. Young tallied five RBIs and three runs in a 2-4 effort. Buckman's three-run home run was also big.

Lexi Lander got the win at the mound, giving up six runs on six hits in 3.1 innings of work. Houston's also noteworthy, allowing three runs on three hits across 1.2 innings to a surging Bulldog offense to help Augie lock up the win. Stariha was left with the loss for UMD. 

The Bulldogs' next stop will be Rochester, Minn. to take part in the NSIC Tournament. The postseason festivities kick off in the RYFSA Complex on May 3. Stay tuned for full details, including an official bracket and full ticket information.