UMD Bulldogs "ALLETE" Moments: Competition

Throughout this year, UMD Athletics is partnering with Minnesota Power, ALLETE to highlight the Bulldogs accomplishments in the 3 C's: Classroom, Competition, Community. 

Four University of Minnesota Duluth softball players were tabbed Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference all-conference performers Tuesday.

Senior pitcher Lauren Dixon, senior outfielder Kat Burkhardt and junior first baseman Nicole Schmitt earned NSIC All-Conference First Team, while freshman pitcher Maddy Walsh garnered a spot on the NSIC All-Conference Second Team. 

Dixon, the NSIC's Preseason Player of the Year, lived up to the hype, and in doing so, rewrote UMD's career pitching record book to her liking. The Sobieski, Wisc. native, has grown the Bulldog career strikeout record to 804 with the addition of 219 – an NSIC-high – so far this season and owns a record of 21-5. DIxon, a two-time NSIC Pitcher of the Week and named to the NFCA D2 Pitcher of the Year Watchlist, also took over UMD career marks for wins (72), games completed (78), starts by a pitcher (102), and is just seven innings away from owning the innings pitched record of 646 – DIxon currently has pitched 639.2 innings over her four year career. The standout pitcher threw her first career no-hitter on April 10 against the University of Minnesota Crookston, and currently owns the lowest ERA across her career in a single season of 1,02, as well as holding opposing batters to a .154 batting average – another career low. Dixon, who ranks sixth in the NCAA with six shutouts and now has a UMD career record of 30, is now a two-time All-NSIC First Team selection. 

Burkhardt, a 2023 All-NSIC Second Team selection, moved up to the conference's top team after putting up the highest batting average of her career (.372). The New Berlin, Wis. product owns the 15th highest batting average in all of the NSIC in 129 at bats, and 11 times had a multiple hit game. Burkhardt, who hit a career-best 11 doubles and had 27 RBIs, also had 41 putouts from the field and a career-high four assists.

Schmitt becomes a two-time First Team All-NSIC selection after leading the NSIC for most of the season in doubles, which so far has been a career-best 18 – just four doubles away from the single-season record at UMD. With a .373 batting average – the best of her collegiate career, the Verona, Wis. native ranks fourth in the NSIC, and owns the seventh-most RBIs in the league with 45 – also a career mark. In fact, Schmitt had a career-record eight RBIs against the University of Sioux Falls on April 13. Schmitt also owns the 10th most hits in the NSIC – 62, and the second most putouts in the league with 367. In 14 games this season, Schmitt has had 14 multiple hit games, including three games with three or more hits. 

Walsh earns an all-conference nod as a pitching rookie who currently ranks fourth in earned run average (1.97) and fifth in opposing batting average (.235). A Duluth, Minn. native, Walsh has thrown 54 strikeouts in 78.1 innings of work. With a record of 8-1 on the mound with two saves, Walsh contributed the second most strikeouts on the team this season and was pivotal in the UMD pitchers setting a new single-season record for team strikeouts, which currently stands at 339. Walsh threw a career-high six strikeouts against Wayne State on March 30.

About Minnesota Power, ALLETE:

Our bold vision centers on our commitment to climate, customers and communities. We're a clean-energy leader under our EnergyForward strategy, already delivering 50% renewable energy ahead of all other Minnesota utilities. Now we're doubling down on that with a vision to deliver 100% carbon-free energy to customers reliably and affordably by 2050. Learn more at: https://www.mnpower.com/CarbonFreeEnergyVision