GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Jocelyn Kirk's walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh capped off a pair of 3-2 wins over Kansas City on Friday from Apollo Park in Grand Forks.
With the wins, UND (16-29, 8-12 Summit League) has secured its spot in the Summit League Softball Tournament beginning next week in Fargo. The Fighting Hawks are still currently alive for the No. 4, 5 or 6 seed with two games vs. Kansas City (25-24, 9-13 Summit League) remaining.
G1: UND 3, KC 2
Three runs over the middle innings coupled with another dazzling performance from
Adrianna Dilal helped the Fighting Hawks defeat the Roos, 3-2, to open the day.
Dilal limited the Roos to just six hits and one earned run over her seven innings of work, notching her sixth complete game of the season. The Rochester, N.Y., native struck out eight hitters to move to 6-6 on the season and lower her ERA to 1.97 during conference play.
UND picked up nine hits of its own in the win, led by the top-two spots in the order combining for five of those knocks.
Jailene Carpio went 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored from the No. 2 spot in the lineup while Kirk started off her big day with a 2-for-4 performance at the leadoff position.
After some quick innings, the Hawks broke through in the bottom of the third to jump out to an early lead. A single and a wild pitch put
Alexys Campos on second base with two outs for Carpio. The senior came through with a double to left center to score Campos and give the hosts a 1-0 advantage after three.
Following a two-out, two-run rally by Kansas City in the top of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead, UND answered right back in the bottom of the frame.
Madison Pederson led off the bottom of the fourth with a double, a groundout moved her to third with one out where
Ashlynn Uvila blooped a single into right field to bring Pederson home and knot the game at two.
UND made it three runs over three innings in the bottom of the fifth, with
Alyssa Rios entering the game at catcher and coming through with a big hit. Another hit by Carpio followed by a walk to Pederson brought Rios to the plate with two outs and two on. The junior came through with her first RBI of the season when her single found some open space near second base and allowed Carpio to score and give UND a 3-2 lead after five.
Dilal closed out the game with a strikeout to seal the win and a spot in the postseason for UND.
G2: UND 3, KC 2
In a similar script to the opener, North Dakota rallied once again past the Roos with a walk-off home run from Kirk in the bottom of the seventh for the 3-2 win and a Friday sweep.
The homer capped off a solid afternoon for Kirk, finishing the second game with three hits in four at-bats with an RBI and two runs scored to pace the UND offense at the top of the order.
Jannay Jones started the game for the Hawks, firing four innings of work and allowing just three hits and two runs to earn the no-decision.
Lauren Feld shined in relief, allowing just one hit and a walk while striking out three and holding the Roos scoreless to earn her fourth win of the year.
Defense was on display in the first few innings for both sides, with multiple flashes of leather keeping the game scoreless entering the top of the third. Kansas City struck first in the third with a two-run home run to left field to put the visitors in front, 2-0.
UND started to rally in the bottom of the fourth, with Pederson on second and Uvila on first with two outs. Making the first start of her career,
Mariah Peters smacked a ball to the wall in left center to score Pederson and cut the lead in half, 2-1, after four. It was the first RBI, hit and extra-base hit in the career for Peters.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Feld in the top of the fifth, the Hawks came right back to the plate and did some damage. A one-out single by Kirk and an ensuing walk to Carpio put runners on first and second, but a strikeout brought Pederson to the plate with two away. The sophomore came through with a similar hit to Rios' in the opener, finding a hole in the infield to allow Kirk to score from second and tie the game at two.
KC threatened to take the lead back in the top of the sixth, putting runners on second and third with one out. Feld worked her way out of the jam with a fielder's choice to cut down a runner at home followed by a strikeout to keep the game tied through six.
With the game tied in the bottom of the seventh, Kirk unloaded on a 1-1 pitch to send it over the left field wall and give UND the 3-2 win in dramatic fashion.
North Dakota and Kansas City close out the regular season on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon from Apollo Park.
