The University of Minnesota Duluth baseball team hosted the Winona State University Warriors this afternoon for a midweek doubleheader, falling in both games throughout their first two games at Bulldog Park since the 2021 season.

Game One: UMD (1) - WSU (7)

The Warriors were quick to get on the board first in game one, scoring two runs in the first inning on a pair of RBI base hits. The Bulldogs would get a chance to respond with a run of their own in the bottom of the third inning, with Sam Kliber hitting a leadoff single that would allow him to eventually come around and score on a passed ball from WSU. However, that would be all the Bulldogs would collect as they would go scoreless throughout the rest of the game while WSU would collect five more runs over the fourth and fifth inning.

Game Two: UMD (9) - WSU (10)

WSU would open the game two scoring with a solo home run in the top of the first, but thanks to the help of a Warrior error, Michael Gabbard would reach and eventually score on a Jack Puder sacrifice fly to tie up the score. A defensive battle would keep the next three innings scoreless on both sides, keeping the score at 1-1 heading into the fifth.

A pair of RBI base hits and a sacrifice fly for the Warriors added three more runs on the board for them in the fifth, but Gabe Richardson would not let that go unchecked as he would launch a two run home run to keep the Bulldogs within one. UMD seemed to have found their stride from the dish, adding two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings on a collection of RBI hits and strong base running to give them a 3 run lead by the end of the seventh.

A pair of two-run home runs in the eighth and a solo home run in the ninth for the Warriors would give them back their lead, putting the score at 9-7 heading into the final half inning of regulation. The Bulldogs would bite back though to keep the game alive with clutch two out double from Troy Lynch to score two runs and send the game into extra innings. Extra innings would stay scoreless for both teams up until the top of the eleventh, where WSU would score one run before an impending defensive "pickle" situation that would end the inning. The Bulldogs would be held scoreless in the bottom to end the game.

Looking Ahead

Bulldog baseball heads to Crookston this weekend to take on the UMC Golden Eagles in a three game series. The first pitch is currently scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 27, at 1:30 PM.