SAN ANTONIO – Led by strong pitching and solid hitting from the top of the lineup, the University of North Dakota softball team defeated Toledo, 6-2, on Sunday morning to close out action at the H-E-B Classic in San Antonio.
 
On a humid and drizzly morning, UND (3-2) pounded out a season-high 10 hits to drive home the six runs while Lauren Feld carved through Toledo (3-2) hitters to finish the tournament with back-to-back wins over reigning league champions.
 
Feld made it back-to-back complete games from UND pitchers, following in Jannay Jones' footsteps, allowing only nine hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out four and surrendering zero walks. The freshman also provided the offense with the bat, coming up with a pair of hits, including a two-run homerun, two RBIs, and a run scored from the cleanup spot.
 
The top of the order was all over the base paths for the Fighting Hawks, as Morgan Flann had a multiple-hit morning with two runs scored and an RBI while McKenzie Ryan also tallied a base hit, drove in a run, and scored one herself in the victory.
 
It didn't take long for UND to take the lead, striking in the bottom of the first. After Flann led off the game with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch, Angel Love sent a ball that ricochet off the second baseman and into the outfield to bring home Flann and give UND a 1-0 advantage.
 
Toledo knotted the game at one in the top half of the third, but the Hawks answered with a three-run outburst in the bottom of the stanza. Flann started the rally with another single, this time with one out, before Ryan followed with a double to the wall to put the green and white back in front, 2-1. UND wasn't done there, however, as Feld helped her own cause with a homer to dead center to score a pair and extend the lead to three, 4-1, after a trio of frames.
 
UND added a fifth run thanks to some smart baserunning in the bottom of the fourth. With Alicia Young at third and Kawena Kalani at first, Flann sent a rocket to short that was caught, but the attempted double play throw to first was wide of the target and Young scooted home from third to make it 5-1 Hawks.
 
Toledo threatened in the top of the fifth, loading the bases to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs. After a long battle, Feld fired a nasty off-speed pitch to get the strikeout and strand the bags full of Rockets.
 
The teams traded runs in the sixth, but Feld polished off the victory in the seventh to hold on for the 6-2 win.
 
North Dakota will hit the road next weekend for a showdown in the Louisiana Classic against ranked foes Louisiana and LSU.