No. 7 UMD softball falls short of upsetting No. 2 Missouri Southern in NCAA Regional opener

In their NCAA Central Regional tournament opener Thursday the seventh seeded University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) softball team fell short of upsetting second seeded Missouri Southern State falling 3-2 in Joplin, Mo.

Freshman Kendal Jenkins had a RBI and hit for UMD putting them up 1-0 in the top of the third. Kiana Bender added a RBI off a solo home run in the fifth to tie the game at two. She had two runs and three hits.

“At the end of the day that should be the toughest potential team that we would face this weekend. It’s up to anybody to win those games. We’re looking for the next war so here we go,” junior outfielder Kat Burkhardt said.

“We were ready to go, and things just didn’t fall our way, and we didn’t play our best game. But ultimately that’s not who we are. So just coming back from today, and showing them what we got tomorrow. I don’t think they’re going to expect us to come back,” junior infielder Kiana Bender added.

Bulldog pitcher Lauren Dixon dished out three strikeouts from the circle. For the full box score, Click Here.

UMD (40-12) stays alive in the tournament but drops into the elimination bracket. They next play Rogers State on Friday at 5 p.m. at the Pat Lipira Softball Complex in Joplin. For the tournament schedule, Click Here.