SAVANNAH, Ga. – The University of North Dakota softball team shut down Eastern Kentucky, 2-0, before dropping an 8-1 decision to Georgia Southern on the first day of competition at the Georgia Southern Eagle Classic.
“We had a good pitching performance, played solid defense, and one big hit was enough to get a win today,” head coach Jordan Stevens said. “We carried it over a while in the second game, but couldn't get a win. We threw well for three and half inning but couldn't keep it.”
North Dakota opened the game against the Colonels with two runs in the bottom of the first before settling down into a pitcher's duel, in which redshirt sophomore Kaylin VanDomelen came out on top.
Babrowski led off the inning for UND by earning first after getting hit by a pitch. Two outs later, Shelby Hard stepped up to the plate and crushed her third home run of the season and third as in many games, to put UND up 2-0.
With the early lead, North Dakota was then able to settle into the game, keeping the Colonels to just four hits on the day.
“We're a lot better when we play with a lead,” Stevens added. “We have to do better with that. We have to produce a lead early in games, and we're a lot better when we do that.”
The Colonels put runners in scoring position in both the fifth and sixth innings, but VanDomelen, backed by the UND defense, kept Eastern Kentucky off the board. VanDomelen pitched her sixth complete game of the season and picked up her third win, throwing a season-high seven strikes. It was also her second shutout of the season.
“Kaylin had a really good performance today,” Stevens commented. “It was probably her best of the year and she's had some good ones too.”
North Dakota carried the momentum from the strong defensive win into the day's second game against host Georgia Southern. However, the Eagles ended the Fighting Hawks shutout streak in the third inning, and eventually took the contest, 8-1.
UND only recorded one hit in the contest, a solo home run from the bat of Hard in the top of the fourth inning. Hard has now hit one home run in each of the past four games.
The Fighting Hawks return to Eagle Field tomorrow morning with another contest against Eastern Kentucky at 9 a.m. (CT), before taking on Georgia Southern at 1:30 p.m.
