BISMARCK, N.D. - Hoping to make a push in the final week of conference play, the University of Mary Softball team took on the University of Minnesota Duluth this afternoon for the third doubleheader in as many days.
 
Unfortunately the Marauders (16-32, 10-17 NSIC) failed to find the winning combination as they dropped game one to the Bulldogs (31-12, 20-6 NSIC) at 9-2 after a seventh-inning rally was cut short, only to drop game two at 5-4 despite loading up the bases late in the game that narrowed the window of opportunity to clinch a spot in the NSIC Tournament.
 
GAME ONE
 
The Bulldogs opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first in the frontend of the doubleheader after Ashley Lewis grounded out to the first baseman that allowed Ashley Schilling for a 1-0 lead, but MeLanie Rodriguez ensured that would be the only scored run of the inning as she drew a fly out from Becky Smith to end the inning.
 
U-Mary had a chance to match Minnesota Duluth's run total in the bottom of the first as Alana Norman led off with a single right back to the pitcher and stole second to put a runner in scoring position with nobody out.
 
Demaree Rodriguez strode to the plate and drove the 2-0 pitch from Cayli Sadler to shallow center field, but the Bulldogs caught Norman in no-man's land after she took a hard round of third base and ended up as an out after getting hung up in the rundown for the first out of the inning.
 
The timely defensive play squelched any momentum the Marauders had in the inning as Sadler recorded the next two outs on and a groundball and popup to keep Minnesota Duluth ahead at 1-0 going into the second.
 
After a scoreless second inning, the Bulldogs decided to manufacture some runs in the top of the third after Hannah Schmoll reached on a fielder's choice and stole second with one out during Schilling's at bat, but two walks were issued in succession to load the bases up for Lewis who ended up getting plunked by a pitch to bring in Schmoll for a 2-0 Bulldog lead.
 
Smith followed up with a double into the right center gap to bring in two more, while Hannah Bloch singled through the left side for another run and Sami Schnyder executed the perfect squeeze bunt for a score to set the Minnesota Duluth lead at 6-0 going into the bottom of the third.
 
Meanwhile, U-Mary's offense struggled to get in gear as they managed only two hits in the next three at bats before finding pay dirt in the bottom of the sixth after Norman rattled off her third single of the day and reached second on Demaree Rodriguez's groundball to third base.
 
Amber Gamboa laced a single to left field that scored Norman as she hit the afterburners while rounding third, but she would be the only run of the inning as Sadler got a line drive out from Taylor Mendez to end the inning.
 
Minnesota Duluth got a handful of insurance runs in the top of the seventh as Abbey Nelson reached on an infield single to the shortstop that scored Schmoll, while Schilling scored on a double steal attempt that was a result of a successful delayed steal from Nelson for an 8-1 Bulldog lead, capped off by Smith's single to center field that brought in Nelson for a 9-1 lead favoring the visitors heading into the bottom of the seventh.
 
U-Mary had a glimmer of hope in the bottom half of the seventh as Shawnee Zink drew a lead off walk after battling with Sadler for eight pitches, followed up by Kylie Alto's one out single to right field to put runners at the corners. Zink ended up scoring on a wild pitch that advanced Alto up to second, while Keegan Wickman drove a pinch-hit single back up the middle that moved Alto up to third.
 
Alas, a miscommunication at third base would be the Marauders' undoing as Alto ran through the red light and was thrown out at the plate on a relay from Schilling to Bloch that brought the game to a screeching halt and finalized the score at 9-2.
 
Alana Norman did everything in her power to keep the offense rolling as she was a perfect 3-for-3 with three singles to go with a stolen base and a run scored. Though the Marauders registered eight hits in the game, not a single one was for extra bases as the Bulldog defense was stifling on any base hit in the contest.
 
MeLanie Rodriguez took the complete game loss as she struck out four in seven innings of work.
 
GAME TWO
 
The second game was nearly the compete opposite of the first as the Bulldogs chipped away at U-Mary's armor throughout the seven innings, starting with Schilling scoring on a wild pitch in the top of the first, followed by Bloch scoring on a groundball to second base from Sammi Sadler for a 2-0 Minnesota Duluth lead going into the third.
 
The Marauders took advantage of an odd sequence of events in the fourth inning after the Bulldogs had their own miscommunication with bases loaded and two outs in the inning.
 
Demaree Rodriguez got the inning started with a leadoff walk while Gamboa singled through the left side and Zink singled to right with one out to load the bases up and bringing Alto to the plate.
 
Alto got some help from mother nature as she skied the first pitch from Sam Hartmann in the infield that would appear to be fielded by Hartmann.
 
Hartmann was called off by the second baseman who was charging hard and the ball fell untouched to the ground, resulting in an unusual single for Alto that scored Demaree Rodriguez, and the ball ended up ricocheting between the first and second baseman trying to field the ball that allowed Gamboa to score.
 
The attempt to retire Gamboa from the second baseman got away from Bloch behind the plate and the errant throw allowed Zink to score while Alto made it all the way to third base and gave the Marauders an unconventional 3-2 lead in the game.
 
U-Mary wasn't quite done in the inning as a soft groundball back to Hartmann was fielded cleanly but a muffed catch from the first baseman allowed Alto to score as the Marauders finally caught a break on the other side of an ugly inning for a 4-2 lead going into the fifth.
 
The lead was short lived, unfortunately, as the Bulldogs got the runs back in the top half of the fifth after Sammi Sadler scored on the fielder's choice groundball from Natalie Wright, followed by another manufactured run as Wright willing entered into a rundown during a delayed steal attempt that allowed Schmoll to score to knot the game at 4-4, erasing the lead in a blink of the eye.
 
The Marauders' offense fell into a funk as the Bulldogs employed an unusual defensive switch with five infielders and two outfielders every time Norman or Alexandra McDermott took their spot in the batter's box, while they retook the lead in the top of the sixth after Sammi Sadler was caught in a rundown between first and second on another double steal attempt that allowed Hailey Lundquist to score for a 5-4 lead.
 
U-Mary had bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth when Zink reached on a dropped fly ball to right field and advanced up to second after Colleen Crutchfield drew the walk, while Wickman was hit by a pitch with two outs to bring up Lex Hubbard.
 
Hubbard lined a shot right at the first baseman, but Lewis gathered herself long enough to squeeze the out and quell any momentum for the Marauders.
 
Minnesota Duluth went down in order in the top of the seventh to keep U-Mary's hopes alive, but the lone hit in the final at bat came on a single from Gamboa as Hartmann notched the second complete game win of the day for the Bulldogs at 5-4.
 
Amber Gamboa finished with three hits in the contest, all singles, to go with one run, while the Marauders were once against stymied by the Bulldog defense as all six hits fell in for singles on the backend of the doubleheader.
 
Brieann Backes took the complete game loss as she scattered six hits over seven innings while striking out three.
 
The Marauders will take on St. Cloud State University tomorrow afternoon in the final doubleheader of the conference season, with first pitch scheduled for 1 PM CDT. It is a busy weekend for U-Mary with their Breast Cancer Awareness day against the Huskies along with Senior Day as they also make a push for the final spot in the conference tournament.
 
As it stands, the Marauders are currently 12th in the NSIC standings behind the Huskies in 11th and the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs in 10th. The Marauders will need to sweep the Huskies and get some help from Upper Iowa University and Winona State University as the Mustangs own a 1.5 game lead with four games to play and will take on the Peacocks and Warriors over the next two days.
 
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