TUSCON, Ariz. – The University of North Dakota softball team lost both of its contests on the final day of the Wildcat Invitational. The Fighting Hawks fell to Iowa State (1-7) and Loyola Chicago (0-7).
North Dakota 1, Iowa State 7
A three-run second inning proved to be the difference, as Cyclones powered past UND, 7-1, to start the action on day three in Tucson.
Morgan McConnell pitched a clean first inning to keep it scoreless before running into trouble in the second inning to earn the defeat. The freshman pitcher went 4.1 frames and allowed six runs while
Jackie Albrecht stepped in to pitch the remaining 2.2. Albrecht finished the game with two strikeouts and one run allowed.
North Dakota collected three hits against a strong pitching staff from Iowa State, with
Alexys Campos,
Cassie Castaneda, and
Izzy Haslett leading the way with a hit each.
Morgan Flann provided the big pop of the game on offense for the Hawks with stolen base to score off of a wild pitch and to get UND on the board.
Loyola Chicago 7, North Dakota 0
The Ramblers' three runs in the fifth inning were the difference as they scored two in the fourth to take an early lead and extended the lead to five before ending the game with a 7-0 victory over UND.
Jannay Jones, who entered the game 2-6, kept the Ramblers scoreless in the first three innings with three strikeouts. She secured two 1-2-3 innings in the second and third before the Ramblers were able to land hits and runs on Jones. She played a complete game (6.0) and allowed seven hits and seven runs.
North Dakota came up with five hits in the contest, as
Izzy Haslett provided the initial pop with a double to center field in the top of the third.
Chevelle Sartin and
Madi Moore also had one hit for the Fighting Hawks as
Cassie Castaneda picked up the remaining pair of hits. They were unable to convert their hits into runs as the Ramblers took the decisive 7-0 win.
North Dakota will return to action on Friday, Mar. 11 as they head to Riverside California for the UCR/CBU Classic where they will play Harvard at 3 p.m. and California Baptist at 6 p.m.
