Bulldog Softball Sweeps in Home Opener
Taylor Dawyduk hits a home run for the Bulldogs. Photo Credit: UMD Athletics
The Bulldog softball team hosted its season home opener against Crookston on Thursday after spending their first 29 games away due to weather and field conditions here in Duluth. Malosky Stadium must have had some good vibes for the Bulldogs to play off of since they won their double header against the Golden Eagles 13-0 and 9-1.
Before the games started, the Bulldogs honored their six seniors, Kendal Jenkins, Morgan McMillan, Taylor Dawyduk, Ava Johnson, Maddy Walsh and Alyssa Williams, with a quick ceremony honoring their time and effort put in as a part of the Bulldog softball team.
The first game started with the Golden Eagles at bat. They were not able to score, however, before switching to the bottom of the first, where Bulldog Sierra Thomas was able to hit a double to left field, allowing Kendal Jenkins to score the first run of the day.
The second inning was a stunner for the Bulldogs, beginning with Taylor Dawyduk hitting a home run with Morgan McMillan on first to start the inning with two runs. Ava Johnson was then able to hit a home run herself with Lauren Jenkins on first to score an additional two runs. Kendal Jenkins later scored an additional run, followed by two more by Khendal Johnson and Sierra Thomas, totaling 7 runs and for the inning to make a score of 8-0.
The score stayed stagnant through the third inning, but was disrupted during the fourth when Ava Johnson was able to score her second run of the game. The Bulldogs then went on to score a grand slam by Taylor Dawyduk, hitting a home run with the bases loaded to bring the score to 13-0. The fifth inning saw no scoring, subsequently ending the first game with a final score of 13-0 for a Bulldog win.
The second game began with an immediate run by the Golden Eagles to create a score of 0-1. The Bulldogs were not able to respond to this until the second inning, when Taylor Dawyduk scored yet another home run to tie the game at 1-1. The Bulldogs were able to get one more run at the end of the third inning, bringing the score to 2-1.
During the fourth inning, the Bulldogs really put in the work, starting with Taylor Dawduk scoring her fourth home run of the night, bringing Morgan McMillan, who was on third, with her for 2 runs scored. Daphne Evans went on to score a home run with Taylor Gallahue on second to score an additional 2 runs for the Bulldogs, followed by Khendal Johnson hitting a single up the middle, prompting Kendal Jenkins and Ava Johnson to score 2 more runs. The Bulldogs did not stop there as Sierra Thomas scored the 9th and Final run for the Bulldogs just after this, bringing the final score to 9-1.
Taylor Dawyduk led the Bulldogs in home runs, scoring 2 in both games, bringing her total to 4 for the night. Dawyduk also led the Bulldogs in scoring along with Kendal Jenkins, both scoring 4 runs for the night. The Bulldogs next face off against the MSUM Dragons on April 19th for an away double header, followed by another home game on April 22nd against the Bemidji State Beavers at 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm at Malosky Stadium.