Lady Dogs Split

NSO – News Release

When the ball left the bat of first baseman Jordyn Thomas there was no doubt that it wasn’t coming back. The freshman from Hermantown, Minn., disposed her seventh home run of the season to break the 2-2 tie and, ultimately, open the floodgates for the University of Minnesota Duluth to put away Concordia University, St. Paul on the backend of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference double header. The Bulldogs (23-7; 5-3 NSIC) split with the Golden Bears (18-14; 3-7 NSIC) at the West St. Paul Regional Athletic Center. CSP took game one 9-1 in five innings, and UMD battled back from a 2-0 deficit to win 11-5.

This comes one day after Jared Thomas, the older brother of Jordyn, netted the game-winning goal in the NCAA Frozen Four.

“I really can’t explain it,” said Thomas when asked about the recently sibling success. “It’s was a surreal moment last night to watch him score a goal and cheer him on in the stands.”

Thomas delivered in a big way similar to her brother.

“We couldn’t let the second game slip from us,” said Thomas. “We needed to get our offense going and I was trying to get a good swing (on the ball) to score the runners and break the tie. When it went off the bat, it felt good and I knew it was going to go far.”

UMD exploded for nine runs in the final two innings. Thomas parked her three-run bomb in the sixth and sophomore Ashley Taipale launched a pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh after the Bulldogs played a bit of small ball.

Sophomore outfielder Lauren Greeder slapped a high chopper to the pitcher and reach first without a throw to start the fifth. She moved over on a sacrifice bunt by junior outfielder Sammi Sadler. Senior outfielder Hannah Schmoll used her speed to get to first on a bunt single and then caused havoc advancing to second on a stolen base. The throw by Golden Bear catcher Amanda Parson went into center, scoring Greeder to tie it.

The next inning, freshman catcher Jessica Bren, who had an RBI double in the fourth, laid down a bunt single and sophomore third baseman Lauren Oberle proceeded to sacrifice herself and reached on a muffed throw. Then, Thomas ignited the offense and helped sophomore pitcher Breanna Swint, the reigning NSIC Pitcher of the Week, gather her 10th consecutive victory in the circle. Swint is 12-2 on the year.

The opening game was one of the uglier games UMD has seen in a long time. For the first time in 87 games the Bulldogs dropped a game via the mercy rule. UMD had no answer to Aryka Knoche, who struck out 11 Bulldogs in five quick innings. Knoche allowed only five base runners on the afternoon.

UMD was able to strike in the top of the first with the game’s first run but wasn’t able to sustain any threat to keep pace with the Golden Bears. CSP took the lead after the first with four runs then built on its advantage scoring three more times before the Bulldogs could get settled in.

The Golden Bear lineup was dialed in at the plate against the Bulldog pitching unit. Junior Valerie Hohol was roughed up and made it only one inning before being pulled. The command was short-lived with 25 of her 46 pitches going for strikes as she allowed three walks. Freshman Brandie Goldberg didn’t fare much better, giving up five runs, three earned, in 3.2 innings.

Schmoll went 2-for-2 with a walk and notched the only run. She crossed the plate on a single up the middle by senior shortstop Becky Smith, who tallied her team-leading 39th RBI.

The Bulldogs are back in the Husky Dome on the campus of St. Cloud State University to take on Minnesota State University Mankato. The double header, which will begin at 6:00 p.m., was moved from Mankato due to poor playing conditions.