MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – The University of North Dakota softball team closed out the weekend with a 4-1 win against Eastern Michigan on Sunday at the EMU Madeira Beach Spring Invitational.
The win was the second for the Fighting Hawks on the weekend, as they beat Southern Illinois on Friday, and are now 6-4 to start the season.
North Dakota got on the board early, using two runs off of one hit to take a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first inning.
Angel Love led off for the Fighting Hawks and earned a base on balls. Dani Romero followed up with a single, before the next two batters, Alicia Young and Taylor Nadler, were also walked to give UND a free 1-0 lead with the bases loaded. Kaylin VanDomelen then hit into a fielder's choice to keep the bases loaded as Romero was forced out at home. Victoria Minor followed up and was UND's four base on balls in the inning, allowing Young to score the second run of the inning.
Junior pitcher Hannah Bergh kept the Eagles hitless through the first three innings, but even after conceding two hits in the fourth, Bergh and the North Dakota defense kept Eastern Michigan off the board until a lone run in the bottom of the sixth ended the shutout bid.
VanDomelen entered the circle in the bottom of the sixth to close out the game. She would end up throwing 1.2 hitless innings for her second career save and helping Bergh earn her fifth win of the season.
UND extended its lead to 4-1 in the top of the seventh behind a two-run homer from Dani Romero.
North Dakota heads back south next weekend for a series of five games in Auburn, Ala. UND will take on Auburn in a single game on Thursday, Feb. 23, before taking part in the Tiger Invitational, Feb. 24-26.
