BIRMINGHAM, ALA. -- The University of North Dakota softball team split a pair of contests in the first day of action at the Blazer Classic in Birmingham, Ala.
The Fighting Hawks (2-2) began the day at 12:30 p.m. with a game against Murray State. North Dakota then closed out the day against the host, the University of Alabama Birmingham, at 5:30 p.m.
North Dakota 4, Murray State 3
The Fighting Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning,
Kaycee Hayes scored the fourth run in the fifth inning to help UND defeat Murray State, 4-3.
Murray State was up to bat first, but
Jackie Albrecht took care of the batter by striking out two and causing a ground out. She allowed one walk to leave one on base.
The top of the order started the afternoon strong for UND as
Jocelyn Kirk reached first on an error by the shortstop.
Alexys Campos stepped up to bat, and she reached first on fielder's choice. This allowed Kirk to advance to second on a pitcher error and then she stole third.
Mariah Peters singled to centerfield for an RBI as Kirk scored. The Racers continued to struggle on defense as
Madison Pederson advanced runners into scoring position.
Madi Moore and
Callie Honig stepped up and each had an RBI as Peter and Pederson scored to put North Dakota up 3-0 at the end of the first.
Albrecht and the Fighting Hawks had a 1-2-3 inning with three ground outs. North Dakota ended the second inning with no runs added and still up by three.
The third inning saw the Racers score their first run, but the North Dakota defense stepped up to only allow that singular run. North Dakota did not score in the third, but they kept the 3-1 lead.
The Racers continued hot on the heels of the Fighting Hawks. They scored a second run to cut the deficit to one. North Dakota secured the remaining two outs with a double play to end the inning still up 3-2.
Albrecht and the Fighting Hawks had another 1-2-3 inning at the top of the fifth as the Racers had one strike out and two ground out. At the bottom of the fifth, the Fighting Hawks advanced players to scoring position with one out. It was
Chevelle Sartin's turn to single to right field for an RBI as Hayes scored to put the Fighting Hawks up 4-2 headed into the sixth inning.
The teams remained scoreless in the sixth inning. The Racers continued to battle at the top of the seventh. With two outs, Murray State scored to bring it within one. Albrecht struck out the next batter to give the Fighting Hawks the 4-3 win.
Albrecht pitched 7.0 innings. She had six total strikeouts to end the afternoon. Albrecht had a five-hit, three-run game to give her the second win of her career.
University of Alabama Birmingham 1, North Dakota 0
Friday's second game brought a pitching duel in a 1-0 UAB win.
Jannay Jones battled to a complete game, allowing four hits over six innings of work and surrendered just one run, but was saddled with a tough defeat.
After scoring four runs in the opener, UND could only muster a pair of hits, with
Madi Moore and
Callie Honig providing the pop for the Hawks.
Both teams threatened in the opening innings, but the game remained scoreless through three innings. In the bottom of the fourth, the Blazers hit a home run to earn them the lone run of the game.
North Dakota returns to action tomorrow with two games against Toledo at 10 a.m. and UAB at 3 p.m.
