FRESNO, Calif. – The University of North Dakota softball team dropped a pair of tight contests to open the Bulldog Classic on Friday in Fresno, Calif.
 
In Friday's opener, UND (9-12) dropped a 3-0 decision to California Baptist in extra innings before the Fighting Hawks fell to Fresno State, 5-3, on a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to close the night.
 
Cal Baptist 3, North Dakota 0 (8)
In true battle of the pitchers, California Baptist plated a trio of runs in the top of the eighth to break a 0-0 tie and give the Lancers a 3-0 win over the Fighting Hawks in Friday's opener.
 
Kellye Springstead tossed a complete-game shutout for the Lancers in the victory, surrendering only four hits and striking out 10 Fighting Hawks. Jannay Jones nearly matched her opponent pitch-for-pitch, allowing seven hits and three runs (all unearned) while fanning a pair of batters.
 
The pitching and defenses shined in the opening innings, as both teams threatened to get on the board but the scoreless tie was held throughout the seven scheduled frames.
 
An error and the automatically placed runner to start extra innings immediately put runners on the corners with no outs for the Lancers in the top of the eighth, as Cal Baptist broke through with back-to-back sacrifice bunts to build a 2-0 lead. After a pair of outs, Cal Baptist added a third run on a fielding error to take a 3-0 advantage into the bottom half of the frame.
 
UND threatened with runners on the corners in the bottom of the eighth, but Cal Baptist held on for the 3-0 victory to take the weekend opener and halt the four-game winning streak for the Fighting Hawks.
 
Fresno State 5, North Dakota 3
Fresno State broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run, walk-off home run to push the host-Bulldogs past North Dakota, 5-3, on Friday night.
 
After trailing 3-0 after just an inning of play, UND rallied to knot the game at three in the top of the fifth, but the Bulldogs struck on the game's final swing to hand the visitors its second tight loss of the day.
 
Lexi Mayhood was the leader at the plate for the Fighting Hawks, tallying a trio of hits in three at-bats to pace UND's six hits on the night. Deja Miller, Angel Love, and Dani Romero also recorded a hit while also coming around the score the three runs. Despite not recording hits, Jocelyn Kirk and Victoria Minor both recorded RBIs for UND.
 
Nikki Pica earned the start in the circle in the nightcap, finishing with a no-decision after 5.1 innings of seven-hit, three-run ball. Emily Rosas, who was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week on Monday, allowed two runs over a frame of work to see her three-game winning streak come to an end.
 
After Fresno State built a 3-0 lead after one frame, the Hawks cut the deficit to just one when Minor reached on a fielding error that allowed a pair of runs to score and get the visitors on the board for the first time on the day.
 
The offenses were silenced through the next few innings, but UND was able to tie the game at three in the top of the fifth. Miller tripled to left field to lead off the stanza before Kirk sent the first pitch she saw into right field for a sacrifice fly to bring Miller home and bring the game level again.
 
UND had another scoring threat in the top of the seventh, but could not get the run home as Fresno State won the contest with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh.
 
North Dakota returns to action with another pair of tilts on Saturday as the Hawks will battle California Baptist at 11 a.m. and UC Santa Barbara at 1:30 p.m.