St. Cloud, Minn.- The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team secured two more conference victories out at the Husky Stadium Dome on Friday, defeating Concordia-St Paul in convincing fashion 11-2 in game one before notching a 3-2 thriller of a game two win. The pair of W's moves the Bulldogs' overall record to 23-6, its NSIC mark to an impressive, conference-leading 9-1.

Sure didn't take long for UMD to get on the board in the first game, as a Kat Burkhardt single drove in Kiana Bender in the top of the first to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead. The very next inning would be the one where UMD would really start to establish some separation. A name to highlight: Dea Deleon. After smacking a triple out to left that scored Elle Potts to make it 2-0, the junior outfielder eventually stole home herself to push that to 3-0. A strong bit of work that really opened up the scoring for the dogs, as an ensuing Sidney Zavoral single brought in both Corrie Weise and Bender to make it so that even a grand slam couldn't fix CSP's problems, as UMD held a 5-0 lead. In the third, DeLeon would grind out a 10-pitch at-bat to a single that would score Julia Gronholz to make it 6-0. Couple that with a two-RBI Kendal Jenkins double, and the Bulldogs were able to take an 8-0 advantage into the fourth.

The Golden Bears would get one back there, Avery Johnson singling to bring in Tori Turgeon and make it 8-1. This would only end up mattering in relation to the Bulldogs' quest to end this one early- and they'd sure do good work towards that goal in the fifth. UMD would secure three more runs on the dot to give them the 10-run lead necessary to make that possible at 11-1. CSP would keep pushing, though, even loading the bases with two outs on the board and threatening to score. But in what ended up being the last at-bat of a complete game of work, Lauren Dixon would force a ground-out that would seal the deal on an 11-1 UMD victory.

Dixon was as lights-out as ever in this one, giving up just one run, four hits and four walks compared to eight strikeouts through five innings and 103 pitches. Offensively, several Bulldogs pop off the page. Jenkins went 2-3 from the plate with three RBIs, tying Zavoral for the team-lead in that latter department. DeLeon went a perfect 2-2 while registering two RBIs and scoring three times herself. Burkhardt closed with a 2-4 mark and two RBIs of her own. Weise scored twice. 

Game two was a night-and-day difference to the opener in terms of pace. Early on, if there were any offensive threats looming, it was the Golden Bears generating them. Take the bottom of the second, for example, when a Riley Rosenthal single with the bases juiced brought in a CSP run to give the squad the first lead of the contest at 1-0. Allyssa Williams would tag into the game at the mound here and do good work to get the Bulldogs out of the jam. It was a sign of things to come for the freshman, as she'd be integral to UMD's comeback efforts in this one with a lockdown performance culminating in a two-strikeout fifth frame. The problem is… the Golden Bear on the mound was having just as strong of a day. Bryanna Olson continued to keep the Bulldogs scoreless heading into the sixth. But it was in that penultimate frame that UMD was finally able to break through- and with a bang. A solo blast from Burkhardt, her fourth homer of the year, came just at the right time, breaking the seal and knotting things up at one heading into the bottom of the frame. Concordia would answer right back, though, a single from Johnson scoring Rachel Novak to re-establish the Golden Bear lead at 2-1.

This set the scene for some high drama in the top of the seventh, first inherent and then heightened by the scenario that developed on the field. With UMD down to its final out, it was Weise that found herself at the plate for the Bulldogs with two on. Final out soon turned into final strike, as Weise was saddled with a full count. A noble battle, but it's one UMD won by way of the junior, who recorded a single. This alone was enough to score a run and tie things up, but it's not all that happened. At the best possible time (for UMD, at least), CSP recorded an error, one that resulted in a whole extra Bulldog run. Just like that, UMD had gone from on the ropes to in the driver's seat. Good work, Weise.

With the game in the balance in the bottom of the seventh, the Bulldogs again turned to Dixon, this time in relief. The Golden Bears put up a valiant fight against the red-hot pitcher, sitting with two on by the time they were down to their final out. Something you come to learn, though- Dixon wins. And she'd do it again here, forcing a groundout and securing a save on the same day she'd just gotten a W of her own earlier. Your NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, everyone. 

But don't forget about the work of Williams in this one. The freshman was huge for 4.2 innings, allowing just one run, three hits and two walks. Elsewhere, Burkhardt ended up being a standout name for UMD. The junior outfielder went 1-2 while tallying an RBI and scoring a run herself.

Olson's work for CSP can't go without mention, to be fair. The junior went the distance, giving up three runs, three hits and six walks compared to eight K's through seven innings. 

ANSWERS FROM ANDERSON

Roll out the red carpet, it's time for some acclamations. Seems fitting after a day like this, no?

It all starts with that four-run second inning in game one, a stretch that proved to set the tone for that contest. One name might naturally rise to the top of the list in terms of recognition in that span in DeLeon- and to be sure, she was massive. But it takes a village (including a solid base-running partner) to put that kind of inning together. The words of UMD head coach Lynn Anderson after the game echo these ideas.

"We knew a stretch like that was coming soon for our offense," Anderson said. "They are seeing the ball well. And great job by Dea to get that started. She's been battling tough pitches at the plate lately, so to see her have success in that moment I hope was a huge boost for her. She can make things happen because of her versatility as a slapper.  On that stolen base, both Kiana and Dea played that perfectly. Putting pressure on the defense is something we try to add in offensively."

That Bulldog offense also deserves praise for its work in game two- although under different circumstances.

UMD faced a mighty challenge presented at the mound by the Golden Bears in that second contest, something that had been by design. And it's a strategy that ended up going pretty well for CSP most of the way, might have even worked entirely… if not for those meddling Bulldogs. 

Credit for an effort like the one UMD was able to display throughout the second game of the day can be dished out all over the place. Maybe it's best to just let Anderson take the mic on this one. 

"CSP saved their number one pitcher for game two, so it took a bit for us to adjust to her; she's a good pitcher in our conference," Anderson said. "Really proud of seeing our team adjust from inning to inning, at-bat to at-bat as the game went on. We knew we were going to have to grit that one out. And again, our pitchers rose to the occasion vs a good offense. And for us, our hitters came up with timely hits when we needed them after we were able to find ways on base. Our dugout started to get rowdy and I love that. Kat came up huge with a solo homerun that got it started offensively for us late in the game. And Corrie came up huge in the seventh with great composure at the plate in that situation."

That's a lot of bases covered in terms of praise, but Anderson had one more nugget in store to really drive things home, something more all-encompassing.

"I was most proud of what we as a team overcame," Anderson said. "It would've been very easy to get frustrated with some uncontrollables that game, but we stayed the course and believed in what we could do together."

Speaking of uncontrollables… it's already been quite a season in terms of scheduling madness. Constant shuffling has left UMD with new locations and time slots on its calendar seemingly every week. It's a lot to balance, but balancing it is simply part of playing softball in the NSIC. It becomes something you have to build into your thought process- and Anderson's squad has done just that. 

 "We just take it in stride," Anderson said. "Can't control the weather but we can control our response to it. It's a mindset."

Pretty firm control as of late, don't you think?