HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The University of North Dakota softball team split a pair of contests on Sunday to conclude its weekend at the Black & Gold Invitational in Hattiesburg, Miss. 

UND (1-3) dropped the opening game of the day in six innings to Murray State, but rebounded with a triumph over the host-Golden Eagles in extra innings to seal the split and a 1-3 mark over the weekend. 

Murray State 9, North Dakota 1
The Racers erupted for nine innings in the bottom of the sixth inning to turn a 1-0 UND deficit into a 9-1 Murray State lead, as the game was called due to the mercy rule after six innings of play. 

It was a pitcher's duel for a majority of the contest, with all 10 combined runs coming in the final frame. Adrianna Dilal threw a strong five innings, holding the Racers to just two hits and zero runs over those first five frames, but was saddled with her second loss after surrendering four earned runs and a trio of walks in the sixth inning. 

North Dakota couldn't get much going on the offensive side of things, collecting only one hit and drawing three walks. Jailene Carpio was the only Fighting Hawk to reach base multiple times, drawing a pair of free passes while Alyssa Rios posted the hit for the green and white. 

North Dakota 4, Southern Miss 2 
UND once again faced some adversity in a showdown against Southern Miss, but the Hawks battled back to earn a 4-2 victory in nine innings over the previously unbeaten Golden Eagles. 

Jannay Jones starred in the circle for the Hawks in her first start of the season, tossing 8.1 innings of six-hit, two-run softball while striking out five hitters and carrying a shutout into the seventh inning. The junior was lifted in the bottom of the ninth at 122 pitches for Nikki Pica, who polished off her first save of the season with a pair of strikeouts to strand the bases loaded and seal the victory. 

UND pounded out seven hits in the win, led by a multi-hit performance from Carpio, but it was the top of the order who did the damage in the extra frames. 

The Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third with patience at the plate, as a walk to Rios followed by an Alexys Campos single and a Chavelle Sartin hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with only one out. There, JoJo Rodriguez worked a 3-2 walk following a 10-pitch at-bat to bring in a run and make it 1-0 in favor of the visitors. 

USM nearly answered back in the bottom of the frame, but Campos and Carpio teammed up for an inning-ending double play to keep it 1-0 until the bottom of the seventh when a leadoff triple and ensuing wild pitch sent the game into extras. 

Each team added a run in the eighth, with UND's coming on an Ashlynn Uvila double on an 0-2 pitch down the right field line; however, USM knotted the game up again with a two-out single to move the contest into the ninth. 

With the bases loaded and one out, Sartin nearly hit one out the park, but had to settle for a wall-scraping single that brought home a pair of runs and give UND a 4-2 lead. Jones and Pica shut the door in the bottom half of the frame to seal the 4-2 victory. 

North Dakota returns to action on Tuesday afternoon for a doubleheader against Southern at 1 p.m. from Baton Rouge, La.