PHOENIX, Ariz. – The University of North Dakota softball team notched another superlative to its belt this weekend, defeating Michigan State, 9-5, on Sunday morning to close out the GCU Purple Classic in Phoenix.
 
UND (5-9) has now won back-to-back games over a Power-5 opponent for the first time in school history as well as collecting its first winning record at a tournament this season. Overall, the Fighting Hawks have won four of their last six games, including a 3-1 mark in the desert this weekend.
 
After having to battle from behind in its last win over Yale, UND was able to jump out to an early lead on the Spartans (3-10) once again and was able to blow the game open with the long ball. The duo of Jocelyn Kirk and Angel Love came up with clutch hit after clutch hit, driving in all nine runs for the Fighting Hawks. Kirk tallied five RBIs, came around to score three times herself, collected two hits, and walked once while Love brought in four with a tetrad of RBIs on three hits.
 
Lyndsay Hathaway and Marina Marzolino also each recorded multi-hit games with two each, as Hathaway scored a pair of runs and Marzolino came across the plate once as well. Overall, UND tallied 12 hits and saw a total of 18 batters reach base.
 
Nikki Pica earned her second win of the season in the circle for the Fighting Hawks, striking out six over 4.1 innings. The junior surrendered five runs, eight hits, and walked a pair. Emily Rosas collected the first save of her career by shutting down the Spartans over the final 2.2 innings of action. Rosas allowed only three hits and a walk while striking out a pair to notch the save.
 
After a scoreless first, UND started the scoring in the top of the second. Dani Romero was hit by a 1-1 pitch to start the inning before Love slapped an 0-2 pitch down the LF line that allowed Romero to score from first and gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Michigan State answered with an RBI double of its own in the bottom half of the frame to even the contest at one after two.
 
The deadlock did not last long, however, as UND regained the advantage in the top of the third with a three-run outburst. Hathaway started the frame with a single through the left side before Deja Miller was retired to bring Kirk to the plate. Kirk launched the first pitch she saw out of the yard for a two-run homer to give the Hawks a 3-1 lead. UND added a third run just three batters later as Love drove in Romero again with an RBI double to extend the advantage to 4-1.
 
MSU climbed back into the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, but UND still held the 4-3 lead moving to the top of the fifth. Kirk reached base once again, this time via a walk, before advancing to second on a wild pitch and moving to third on a Marzolino single to place runners on the corners with no outs. A Romero groundout moved Marzolino to second and Love brought her and Kirk home with a two-RBI single through the right side to stretch the lead to 6-3 UND.
 
Both sides turned to the long ball in the late innings as Michigan State cut the deficit to just one, 6-5, again in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run homer, but the Hawks had an answer for everything thrown their way on Sunday. In the next half inning, Kirk answered with her second round tripper of the day by sending the 0-0 pitch out of left-center field for a three-run shot and giving UND the 9-5 advantage.
 
Rosas shut down the Spartans in the final inning to finish off the victory and send the Fighting Hawks back to Grand Forks with a 3-1 record in Phoenix.
 
North Dakota returns to action next Friday in DeLand, Fla. for a doubleheader at Stetson University beginning at 3 p.m.