Just when it seems there's little Lauren Dixon hasn't accomplished over her storied career, the senior pitcher collared another feat. 

Dixon pitched her first career no-hitter in the first game and home opener of the University of Minnesota Duluth softball team against the University of Minnesota Crookston Wednesday on Griggs Field inside of James S. Malosky Stadium. The Bulldogs, who swept the Golden Eagles by scores of 8-0 and 9-2, improved to 27-12 on the season and 8-6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

"I thought we did a great job of putting all three aspects of the game together today," said UMD head coach Lynn Anderson. "Defensively, I felt like we were pretty locked down on plays on defense, infield and outfield. Offensively I thought we had really good approaches at the plate, especially when they switched pitchers on us. I think, the third inning, they brought in a pitcher that threw harder, and we made really good adjustments, and quicker than we have in the past, so that was great. And multiple people putting the ball in play and manufacturing some runs, some folks had some hot bats, which was great to see.'

'Obviously Lauren Dixon did incredible in game one," Anderson continued. "I know it was a short game, but nonetheless, it's a no-hitter in a short game and that's incredible. And then both Allyssa and Allison doing great work together in the second game, I thought they both looked really strong as well. I really like seeing all three facets of the game really come together today"

Game 1 (8-0 UMD wins in five innings)

UMD opened its scoring right away in the bottom of the first inning when Julia Gronholz tripled, and the next batter, Nicole Schmitt, hit a double right up the center to score Gronholz for the 1-0 lead. After Dea Deleon reached first on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on Morgan McMillan's single down the left field line, Kat Burkhardt singled to center field and Deleon scored from second to make it a 2-0 game.

That score would hold until the top of the fourth. After Burkhardt got on base from an error, Gronholz took a walk and Elle Potts was hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded for Khendal Johnson, who singled and then advanced to second on an error by Crookston's center fielder. That cleared the bases in the process for three RBIs made it a 5-0 game. Kate Mohr followed that up with a double to right field that scored Johnson to stretch the Bulldog advantage to 6-0, and Kiana Bender then called the game with her third home run of the season, this one over the right field wall to give UMD a 8-0 lead and end the game early.

Dixon (14-5 overall) threw eight strikeouts in the no-hitter and picked up her second career record so far this season by starting s in her 95th career game for the Bulldogs – a program record from the mound. 
 

Game 2 (9-2, UMD win)

Morgan – who doubled in the bottom of the first and then advanced to third on a throw – scored off a single from Schmitt over the shortstop's glove to make it a 1-0 game in the bottom of the first. 

The Golden Eagles finally broke through against UMD's defense in the top of the second inning with three hits that lead to two runs to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the second, but UMD responded in the bottom of the inning, beginning with a double from Deleon that scored Johnson to equalize. The Bulldogs made it a 3-2 game when McMillan's fly ball to right field scored Burkhardt, and then Deleon scored off a hit from Bender that glanced off the second baseman's glove to make it 4-2. A single from Schmitt scored Bender and then Gronholz stole home on a wild pitch to extend UMD's lead to 6-2.

Bender opened up the bottom of the fourth with a double over the first baseman, and after Gronholz walked, two hitters later, Potts hit a three-run blast over the left field wall to push the Bulldogs run total to its 9-2 final.

Allyssa Williams earned her third win (3-2) with five innings pitched and three strikeouts, while Allison Luoma allowed just a single hit in two innings on the mound for the Bulldogs. Bender and Schmitt both had two hits from the plate (Bender 2-of-4, Schmitt 2-of-3), while Potts led the team with a game-high three RBIs.

The Bulldogs will be back at home on Griggs Field with a doubleheader against the University of Sioux Falls Saturday (which will also mark Mandy Matula Day) and then another NSIC doubleheader against Minnesota State University, Mankato on Sunday.