DULUTH, Minn. – A two-run homer by junior Lauren Meeker broke a 3-3 tie and helped the Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team earn a 5-4 win over Minnesota Duluth in Game 2 of a doubleheader on Tuesday in Duluth, Minn.  The win gave the Dragons a split on the day as UMD prevailed 4-2 in Game 1.

MSUM is now 8-14 overall and 1-5 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while UMD is 16-9 overall and 5-3 in the league.

It is the first time since 2006 and 2007 that the Dragons have beaten the Bulldogs in back-to-back seasons.

"It was good to finally get our bats going and string some hits together at crucial times," MSUM head coach Kelsey Fehl said. "Our pitchers threw well and we played good defense behind them. It was an all-around team win."

In the second game win, Meeker was 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBI. Freshman shortstop Taylor Roddie and senior left fielder Kristy Bruni were each 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Senior pitcher Kristen Nordby was 1-for-3 with an RBI while junior center fielder Carly Williamson and junior second baseman Jill Fox each had a hit and a run scored.

Nordby picked up her fourth win of the season on the mound for MSUM. She went the distance and allowed four earned runs, walking six while striking out one.

The contest was scoreless through five innings before the Dragons broke through in the sixth against UMD starter Sam Hartmann. With two out, Williamson doubled, and scored on a double by Roddie to make it 1-0. Nordby singled, and advanced to second on the throw home, scoring Williamson with MSUM's second run. Bruni doubled down the left field line to score Roddie, giving MSUM a 3-0 lead.

The Bulldogs tied the game at 3-3 with a three-run sixth. In the seventh, Fox led off with a single for MSUM, and would score when Meeker hit her second home run of the season, giving MSUM a 5-3 lead.

"Lauren Meeker came up with a huge hit in the second game to put us back on top," Fehl said.

UMD mounted a rally in the seventh, scoring to cut the lead to 5-4. The Bulldogs put runners on first and second with nobody out after scoring the run, but Nordby got the next three outs – two on fly outs and one on a line out – to escape the inning and preserve MSUM's one-run win.

In the opener, Meeker was 2-for-3, while Williamson was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Freshman third baseman Morgan Anderson was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Senior pitcher Morgan Nybo, and Nordby each had hits for MSUM, while junior designated hitter Kristina Villalobos scored a run.

Nybo took the loss for MSUM, going six innings. She struck out two and walked four while allowing four earned runs.

UMD took a 3-0 lead after two innings. The Dragons cut the lead to 3-1 in the fourth. Nordby singled, and was forced out at second on a fielder's choice by Bruni. Villalobos walked. Nybo singled, and on the play, Bruni was out at third. Meeker singled to load the bases, and then Anderson singled to score Villalobos, cutting the lead to 3-1.

The Bulldogs added a run in the sixth to make it 4-1. MSUM mounted a rally in the seventh when Meeker led off for a single, and was pinch-ran for by freshman KyLee Bartholomay. She moved to second on a groundout, and scored on an RBI single by Williamson, who was thrown out trying to advance to second.

MSUM is in action on Saturday at Augustana. The twinbill begins at 12 p.m. in Sioux Falls, S.D.