HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The University of North Dakota softball team opened the 2021 season with a pair of defeats on Saturday at the Black & Gold Invitational in Hattiesburg.
UND (0-2) pounded out 12 hits and left 18 runners on the basepaths on the day, but could not scratch across any runs in a tough day at the plate in a 3-0 loss to Southern Miss and a 2-0 defeat to Southern Illinois.
Southern Miss 3, North Dakota 0
In her first start as a Fighting Hawk,
Adrianna Dilal bounced back from a tough first inning in the opening contest against USM to fire five innings, allowing only five hits, those three runs in the first frame, one walk and struck out four.
Lauren Feld closed out the game with a 1-2-3 sixth by getting two groundouts and a pair of flyouts.
UND racked up nine hits in the loss to the Golden Eagles, led by a pair from
Alexys Campos and
Ashlynn Uvila. The middle of the order also provided some offensive sparks for the visitors, with
Katie Bierstedt and
Jagger Datan each collecting a hit in the cleanup position and
Jocelyn Kirk also slapping a single.
JoJo Rodriguez drew a pair of walks to reach base multiple times in her UND debut.
The Hawks threatened in every inning, placing runners on in each of the seven frames and saw nine players advance into scoring position, but three runs by the Golden Eagles in the first inning, along with a strong pitching staff, was the difference.
Southern Illinois 2, North Dakota 0
Veteran pitching led the way again for UND in the Saturday finale, as
Nikki Pica tossed a complete game in a 2-0 defeat to Southern Illinois. The fifth-year senior allowed only four hits, two runs and a pair of walks in her first start of the year.
The Fighting Hawks couldn't muster much at the plate, with a trio of players picking up hits; however, the Salukis fanned 10 batters and surrendered only one free pass. Kirk and Cassie Castandeda each muscled a double at the plate while
Jailene Carpio had the other hit for the green and white.
Southern Illinois carried a 1-0 lead into the top of the fifth inning before adding a second to double its advantage, but the UND defense did a nice job keeping the deficit at just two in the frame. With the bases loaded and no outs, the Hawks collected the first out on a fielder's choice to third before Pica induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
UND tried to chip away in the bottom of the stanza, putting a pair on, but that was as close as the Hawks would get in the 2-0 defeat.
North Dakota closes out the weekend with a pair of contests on Sunday, with the Hawks battling Murray State at 9 a.m. and Southern Miss at 4:30 p.m.
