FIRST PITCH 
The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team (37-11 overall, 22-6 NSIC) continues its run in the NSIC Tournament with a matchup against three-seeded Winona State on Thursday, May 4 at 12:00 p.m. at the RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minn.

LAST TIME OUT 
UMD is a team that can be known to really explode at the plate, but its defensive chops were the prime display of its NSIC Tournament opener against Minot State. Led by a standard-fare display of brilliance from Lauren Dixon, the Bulldogs were able to blank MSU and secure a 2-0 victory to advance in the winners' bracket.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-A Sidney Zavoral groundout brought in Kiana Bender to open the scoring in this one in the first inning, giving UMD a lead it'd never give up
-Nicole Schmitt's own groundout in the bottom of the second scored Julia Gronholz to make it 2-0
-Zavoral led the Bulldogs at the plate, going 2-3 with an RBI
-Dixon went the complete seven innings, allowing just a single hit and three walks compared to nine total strikeouts
-UMD put up eight total hits compared to WSU's one lone tally

DIXON THROWS DARTS
As if it wasn't already clear enough…

On Tuesday, the NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year lived up to the hype by winning the regular season incarnation of the award. Dixon became the first UMD pitcher to take home the honor in two decades, in fact joining Michelle Simmonds in 2003 as the only Bulldogs to ever do it. 

It took exactly one day for the junior lefty to go out and add her name to the record book one more time.

Dixon entered Tuesday with 546 career strikeouts. Even though she's only a junior, the Sobieski, Wis. native had already landed in second place in UMD program history in terms of total K's earned, in fact just one away from a tie for the top spot. In the interest of continuing the tradition of making history fast, it took Dixon just one inning to get the job done. Minot State batters number two and three were retired with strikeouts to officially land the lefty with a spot among the Bulldog greats.

ALL-NSIC BULLDOGS 
Five different UMD players found themselves on NSIC All-Conference Teams when the squads were revealed on Tuesday. Dixon (naturally) landed on the First Team, alongside Zavoral and Schmitt. Bender and Kat Burkhardt scored All-Conference Second Team nods. 

STATS STATUS REPORT
Bender's a prominent name to know on the offensive side of things for the Bulldogs. The junior infielder leads the club in slugging percentage (.662), hits (50), doubles (14), triples (7) and runs scored. Burkhardt holds highs in home runs (nine) and RBIs (38). Schmitt has the highest batting average at .388.

Dixon's been a standout on the mound. The junior holds a team-best ERA of 1.65 while holding opposing hitters to just a .180 batting average. The lefty amassed 198 K's on the season so far.

CATCHING UP WITH WINONA STATE (38-11, 20-6 NSIC)
FIRST IMPRESSIONS 
It wasn't quite to the level of a postseason duel, but it was still a pretty special occasion for UMD the last time they saw WSU. The Warriors served as the Bulldogs' first opponent for their home-opening weekend back on April 14. 

If UMD had things its way, Wednesday's matchup would be a repeat of game one of that hoco doubleheader. The Bulldogs' bats exploded in that one, ultimately leading to a 10-0 win in just five innings.

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 Schmitt grand slam
-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
-Dixon got the win at the mound with just three hits allowed compared to six strikeouts through five innings
-Hits were 8-3 UMD

Game two ended up going just a touch differently. UMD and WSU battled for the full seven innings (and three more for good measure) until a victor was finally settled. In the bottom of the 10th, UMD dug into its bag of tricks from the previous game. Burkhardt crushed her first homer of the day to walk it off for the Bulldogs 6-5.

GAME DEBRIEF:
-UMD had one big inning once again, scoring five of its 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.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Those two losses ultimately bumped WSU from first in the NSIC down to third, the same position they'd end up holding by the season's end. But just because the Warriors didn't win the conference doesn't mean they shouldn't be taken seriously- this team is red-hot. After being swept by UMD, WSU rebounded to win nine of its last 12 regular-season contests. Between the end of the regular season and their day one victory in the NSIC Tournament, the Warriors come into Thursday on a five-game winning streak.

THE ROAD SO FAR
Speaking of that tournament victory…

Third-seeded WSU squared off against sixth-seeded MSU Moorhead to open up the tourney festivities for each team on Wednesday. This one ended up being an absolute slugfest- by the time all was said and done, 21 total runs had been scored across 30 hits. The smoke settled to reveal the Warriors as the winners, as they prevailed over the Dragons 12-9. WSU led by as many as six when the score was 8-2 in the bottom of the fourth.

ALL EYES ON ABBIE
The highest-ranking Warrior in most offensive metrics is Abbie Hlas. The junior leads the club in four different fields, those being batting average (.404), hits (78), doubles (21) and runs (48). She also sits at a three-way tie for first in RBIs with 46. Libby Neveau holds a team-high in slugging percentage with .641, but even then, Hlas is second in that arena with a .622 mark. Neveau is far-and-away WSU's best home run hitter though, leading the way with 16.

THE BROADCAST
Follow the postseason action live and free-of-charge through the NSIC Network by clicking the link below:
vs Winona State (Thursday, May 4 @ 12:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3nyJ8VV

UP NEXT
If UMD wins, it will again advance on the winners' side of the bracket. The Bulldogs' next game would then be on Friday, May 5 against the winner of Thursday's contest against St. Cloud State and Augustana. If UMD loses against the Warriors, the Bulldogs will play one more on Wednesday against an opponent to be determined. This is a double-elimination tournament, meaning one defeat wouldn't spell the end of UMD's title hopes.