UMD Softball Eyes Closing Weekend of Regular Season in North Dakota

THE OPENING PITCH: With four games left in the regular season, the University of Minnesota Duluth will venture west to the state of North Dakota for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. The Bulldogs take on the University of Mary first on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. in Bismarck, N.D. and will close out the final two games against Minot State University Sunday at 12;00 p.m. in Minot, N.D.

SCOUTING REPORT ON U-MARY: The Marauders are 9-40 overall and 2-22 in the NSIC this season. They have dropped 20 straight contests and last won 9-8 over Wayne State at home back on Mar. 23. Last weekend, U-Mary dropped both road doubleheaders to Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. Amy Schmeckpeper is 19-78 as the head coach of the Marauders in her second season.

U-Mary is averaging 3.63 runs per game and is batting a collective .263 at the plate. Madison Hunter is hitting a team leading .327 on the season in 40 games. Janelle Bergmann has been the offensive firepower with seven doubles, three triples, six home runs and 29 RBI, all team highs. Ariana Retuta has a team-high 42 hits and Sariah Perez is a perfect 12-for-12 in stolen base opportunities. The Marauders have used nine different pitchers with three pitchers garnering the most starts and hold an ERA of 7.54 this season. As a staff they have issued more walks (172) than strikeouts (155). Arria Johnson is 1-10 with a 5.43 ERA in 25 games and Elyssa Verploegen is 4-11 with a 6.65 ERA in 26 games.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINOT STATE: The Beavers are 27-20 overall and 15-9 in the NISC this season. They are sixth in the NSIC right behind the Bulldogs in the standings in the final week of play. Minot State split both of its final two road double headers last week. Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston each won game one of its respective twinbills before the Beavers came back to settle for the series split. Minot State will host St. Cloud State first before meeting UMD. Sal Rodriguez is the head coach of the Beavers in his second season and has a 51-39 record.

Minot State is averaging 4.02 runs per game and is batting .274 on the season. Five Beavers are hitting above the .300 mark. Anna LaCount leads the way, hitting .385 with a team-high 55 hits. She also has a team-leading seven home runs and is second with 28 RBI. Paige Kellogg leads the team with 20 walks, 15 doubles and 29 RBI. Taylor Smith has 13 stolen bases, a team high. Minot State has a team 2.39 ERA, which is 28th in the nation. Reegan Floyd is 13-8 with a 2.16 ERA in 21 starts this season. She has a team-leading 106 strikeouts in 139.1 innings. She has also tossed four shutouts. Jasmine Blizzard is 12-7 with a 2.09 ERA in 18 starts. Calley Olsen has five saves this spring.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its opponents stack up with its respective records this season, its records in the NSIC, and how each team has done in its last 10 contests.

 

HOW THEY FARED: The Bulldogs have won the last 22 games versus the Marauders. The last time UMD suffered a setback to U-Mary dates back to Apr. 19, 2014 when the Bulldogs lost 9-7 in Bismarck, N.D. UMD swept its 2024 doubleheader 11-0 and 4-1.

The Bulldogs have won seven straight over the Beavers. UMD has pitched shutouts over Minot State in the last six games including three of those in 2024 — a UMD home -series sweep 2-0 and 6-0 and a 2-0 blanking in the NSIC Tournament. The last Beaver victory over the Bulldogs happened when head coach Nat Wagner was the skipper for Minot State during his third-and-final season. The Beavers split that series, winning 9-6 on Apr. 2, 2022.

LAST PLATE APPEARANCE: The Bulldogs bid farewell to Malosky Stadium and its three departing seniors last weekend. UMD went 3-1 during its final homestand which included Senior Day and Alumni Day. The Bulldogs trounced Northern State to pick up another NSIC doubleheader sweep on Friday. UMD grabbed game one 6-3 than completed the sweep with a 9-1 win in five innings. The Bulldogs almost captured their seventh straight win after dismantling MSU-Moorhead 11-3 in the six-inning opener but the Dragons seized a 6-4 victory to end the winning streak and pick up a split.

BULLDOGS IN THE HUNT FOR NCAA CENTRAL REGION BID: The NCAA released the second of three regional rankings on Wednesday and the Bulldogs were slotted 10th and in the hunt for an at-large bid to the NCAA Central Region. UMD is in search for its 11th national tournament appearance and its first return to the grand stage after a one-year hiatus.

The NCAA Central Region is made up of 40 teams spanning across three conferences, those from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Eight teams will qualify for the NCAA Tournament with automatic bids awarded to the tournament champions from each conference and the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.

 

30 FOR 15: The Bulldogs have won at least 30 games in 15 straight seasons — not counting the shortened 2020 season — dating back to 2009. UMD will finish with an above .500 record –again not accounting for the 2020 season —  for the 19th straight season.

NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADES: Senior infielder Nicole Schmitt and junior outfielder Morgan McMillan have each been bestowed as NSIC Player of the Week award winners this season, both for the first times in their careers. Schmitt was named the player of the week twice (Feb. 4 and Feb. 10) and McMillan nabbed the honor back on March 10. UMD had three of the first six NSIC Player of the Week recipients this spring – the first team to accomplish the feat since St. Cloud State had three separate winners in the first five weeks of the 2019 season.

In addition, the duo were the first Bulldogs to win a league award since Lauren Dixon claimed Pitcher of the Week honors back on Apr. 22, 2024 for the second time last season. In addition, Schmitt was the first Bulldog since Sidney Zavoral to earn the Player of the Week accolade, earning that distinction back on Feb. 14, 2023. 

A PROGRAM FIRST?: The latest individual award stands out as a major accomplishment as it is (a believed) first time in program history — going back at least 20 years — the Bulldogs have received back-to-back NSIC Player of the Week recognition. Lauren Dixon did grab NSIC Pitcher of the Week accolades in three consecutive weeks during the 2023 season (4/4, 4/11, and 4/18).

OFFENSIVE BARRAGE: The Bulldogs are averaging 6.38 runs per game this season. That average ranks 26th in the nation and second in the NSIC. UMD has 286 RBI which is 16th in Division II. No stranger to piling up runs, the Bulldogs have put up double-digit runs performances 12 times.

RUN AWAY: UMD put up 15 runs on Minnesota State in the finale and followed up with 18 runs in the opener versus Sioux Falls. Those 33 runs in back-to-back games are the most dating back to April 11, 2021 when the Bulldogs put up that exact total in the double header sweep of the U-Mary. Oddly, UMD also put up 18 runs that day which was the last time they put up that many runs in a single game.

DOUBLE UP: The Bulldogs are 12th in the NCAA in doubles this season with 88.  Five Bulldogs — junior catcher Kendal Jenkins, sophomore infielder Serena Timmer, junior outfielder Morgan McMillan, senior infielder Nicole Schmitt, and sophomore infielder Khendal Johnson — have at least 10 doubles this spring. Jenkins leads the team with 18 doubles which is also the ninth in the entire Division II landscape. 

GIMME THAT: UMD has swiped 99 bases this season as a team. That is the most stolen bases for the Bulldogs since the club broke the program record back in 2018. UMD has only had at least 100 stolen bases twice in the past decade. The Bulldogs grabbed 112 bases in 2016 and a program-best 129 in 2018.

GOOD EYE: Free passes have been a steady diet in 2025. UMD has 191 walks, which is the second most in all of Division II. Only UIndy has more than the Bulldogs, who have 212 walks this season. The Bulldogs have walked at least six times in 12 outings including a season-high 11 base on balls against Concordia University, St. Paul. The 11 walks is the most in a single UMD game dating back to Feb. 11, 2023 against the University of Mary. Seven Bulldogs — Taryn Christopher, Kendal Jenkins, Khendal Johnson, Morgan McMillan, Nicole Schmitt, Sierra Thomas and Serena Timmer — have double digit walks with Schmitt pacing the club with 28.

TO SIX RUNS AND BEYOND!: The Bulldogs this season are 24-1 when scoring at least six runs. The lone setback came against Winona State in the NSIC and home opener. UMD has won its last nine contests when getting to the magical six run mark.

GET AHEAD EARLY: UMD has scored first in 34 of the 50 games this season. When scoring first, the club is 26-8 in such games and 17-4 when scoring in the first inning this season. 

SHIVER ME TIMMER: Sophomore infielder Serena Timmer had every batter’s dream scenario in the doubleheader against Sioux Falls. The Appleton, Wis. native crushed Cougar pitching as she went a combined 6-for-8 with four doubles, a home run — her third of the season — to go along with six RBI and seven runs in the double header. She notched a 4-for-4 day at the plate in the opener where she posted career bests in RBI (five) and runs (five). Both were also Bulldog season highs this season. Timmer also became the second Bulldog to compile four hits in a game.

100 BASE KNOCKS: Junior outfielder Morgan McMillan gathered her 100th hit of her career on a home run in backend of the doubleheader blowout against the Mavericks.

200 BASE KNOCKS: Senior infielder Nicole Schmitt became the latest Bulldog to achieve 200 career base hits. Schmitt ripped a single in the St. Cloud State  opener for her 61st hit of the season, a new single season best. The last Bulldog to achieve the benchmark was Jordyn Thomas, who notched 240 hits during her five-year tenure.

SCHMITT CHASING PROGRAM RECORDS (HR EDITION): The breakout senior season continues for Nicole Schmitt. She is tied for the single-season program record for home runs held by Jessica Bren. Bren crushed a record 16 home runs during her freshman campaign back in 2018. Schmitt hit a pair of home runs on Senior Day last weekend to give herself the opportunity to break the record in the final week of the season. 

SCHMITT CHASING PROGRAM RECORDS (RBI EDITION): Not only is the home run record within view but senior infielder Nicole Schmitt is closing in on the single-season RBI record held by Becky Smith. The 2018 NFCA All-American amassed 67 RBI during her final season in 2018. Schmitt currently has 63 RBI this season and is four away from tying Smith.

PUNCHOUT MILESTONES: Senior pitcher Allison Luoma and junior pitcher Allyssa Williams both achieved 100 strikeouts this season for the first time in their collegiate careers. Luoma has 102 strikeouts and Williams has a team-leading 104 strikeouts.

THE FIRST OF MANY TO COME: Head Coach Nat Wagner grabbed his first win — in his first game — as the head coach of the UMD softball team against Southwest Minnesota State University. The Bulldogs defeated the Mustangs in convincing fashion, blanking the Mustangs 7-0 in the season opener on Feb. 1.

CLOSING IN A MILESTONE: Additionally, Head Coach Nat Wagner needs six more wins to hit his 100th career coaching victory as a head coach.

THE WAGNER FILES: A new era of Bulldog softball commences this season with the addition of head coach Nat Wagner. The newest manager of the maroon and gold becomes just the fifth head coach in the program’s 44-year history after serving as an assistant coach for the University of Saint Thomas the past two seasons. Prior, Wagner was at the helm of the Minot State University program for three years, leading the Beavers to a 60-48 record and one NSIC Postseason appearance.

ON DECK: The Bulldogs will head to the NSIC Postseason Tournament, which they won back in 2023. The tournament will be a 10-team single elimination format spanning over four days with the winner receiving a bid into the NCAA Tournament. Play starts Wednesday, April 30 at Bowden Field hosted by Augustana in Sioux Falls, S.D.