RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- The University of North Dakota fell to both opponents on the first day of the UCR/CBU invitational. The first loss came against Harvard who beat the UND, 3-0. The Fighting Hawks then ended the day against the host, California Baptist, who won 6-1.
North Dakota 0, Harvard 3
A pair of runs in the sixth inning proved to be the difference in a 3-0 win by the Harvard Crimson in the first game of the day for the Fighting Hawks on Friday.
Jannay Jones once again went the distance, hurling a complete game allowing ten hits and three runs against 29 batters. She recorded two strikeouts for the Fighting Hawks.
UND could not get the offense going against Harvard's pitcher, striking out six times and managing only two hits. The Hawks drew one walk all afternoon.
Jocelyn Kirk and
Cassie Castaneda each had the hits for the Hawks, as the duo had at least one hit in the contest.
The Hawks put runners on in the bottom of the third, sixth and seventh, but could not get any batters home. Harvard struck first in the top of the fourth with a home run to right field to earn the 1-0 advantage.
In the top of the sixth, the Crimson made it 3-0 following a RBI double to left field that allowed their runners to score.
UND limited the damage but could only get one runner into scoring position for the remainder of the contest as Harvard held on for a 3-0 win.
California Baptist 6, North Dakota 1
It was a battle as the Fighting Hawks faced the host, California Baptist. A pair of runs in the second and three runs in the fourth were the factor in the 6-1 loss for North Dakota.
Lauren Feld started on the mound for the Fighting Hawks. She pitched 1.1 frames and ended the night allowing two runs and two hits before
Morgan McConnell was brought in for relief. McConnell allowed seven hits and four runs in her 4.0 frames of work. Closing out the pitching for the Hawks was
Jackie Albrecht. She allowed no runs and no hits during her 0.2 innings of work.
California Baptist took an early lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to give them a 2-0 lead. North Dakota remained scoreless until the top of the fourth.
Chevelle Sartin was the spark for the Fighting Hawks as she doubled to left center.
Cassie Castaneda stepped up to the plate after
Callie Honig struck out swinging and hit an RBI single to bring in Sartin and cut the deficit to one (2-1) in the middle of the fourth.
The Lancers responded at the bottom of the fourth with an RBI triple to give them the 5-1 advantage headed into the fifth inning. In the fifth, the Fighting Hawks struggled against the Lancers pitching staff who secured a quick 1-2-3 inning.
California Baptist added one more run in the top of the sixth as they hit a home run to make it 6-1. North Dakota was able to hold the Lancers off for the rest of the game.
The Fighting Hawks threatened in the top of the sixth and seventh with runners in scoring position, but they were unable to bring them home as they fell 6-1.
North Dakota returns to action on Saturday, March 12 at 12:30 PM as they face Harvard for a second time.
