BROOKINGS, S.D. – The North Dakota softball team battled in the first round of the Summit League Softball Tournament, but fell short in extra innings, 6-5, to South Dakota Wednesday in Brookings, S.D.
 
After a pair of scoreless extra innings, it was the Coyotes who broke the tie in the bottom of the 10th frame with the game winning run. A leadoff double and an ensuing groundout to the first baseman moved the runner to third with one out. With the runner at third breaking for the plate, Clara Edwards executed a squeeze bunt that brought home the winning run for USD.
 
Jackie Albrecht was a workhorse for the Fighting Hawks, pitching all 9.1 innings while throwing 159 total pitches. The junior ace allowed 11 hits and four earned runs while striking out three batters. After three USD runs in the first inning, Albrecht settled into the contest and put-up scoreless frames in the second and third. The Coyotes tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth with two outs on an error by the Hawks, but Albrecht would regain her composure and pitch five straight scoreless innings to keep UND within striking distance.
 
Trailing by one in the top of the seventh, the Hawks turned to their veteran catcher, Cassie Castaneda, who came through for NoDak with a sacrifice fly that scored the game-tying run. Pinch runner Olivia Dick was initially called out on the play, but after review it was overturned due to obstruction by the USD catcher. South Dakota found a runner in scoring position in the bottom half of the inning, but Albrecht sent the contest to extras after back-to-back outs.
 
A leadoff walk by Castaneda, followed by a Katelyn Neumayer single, jump started the UND bats in the fourth inning. Mariah Peters swung the momentum in UND's favor with a double to the left centerfield fence that scored Castaneda, and Brooklyn Morris cleared the bases with a single up the middle to tie the game at 3-3.
 
Peters put a stop to a South Dakota scoring chance in the bottom of the sixth when Maddox Boston singled to right field with a laser of a throw from the outfield to Castaneda at the plate who made the tag for the third out.
 
Katie Joten led off the eighth with a single to center field and would later move over to scoring position at third base. With runners on the corners and two outs, however, the Coyotes would escape the inning by forcing a popup. The Hawks quickly erased an error that put the USD leadoff batter on base in the bottom half of the frame by turning a 6-4-3 double play.  
 
Postgame Notes

• The Fighting Hawks fell in the first round of the Summit League Tournament to South Dakota for the second year in a row
• Jackie Albrecht pitched her 15th complete game and it was her third time pitching into the ninth inning of a contest this season
• Angie Dumlao, Katelyn Neumayer and Brooklyn Morris all recorded two hits, while Izzy Haslett drew three walks
• Cassie Castaneda threw out her 19th base runner of the season and 65th of her career
• Castaneda reached base safely in her last six games
• Peters and Neumayer had extra-base hits with a double each
• USD's Alivia Conte led all players with three hits and two runs scored
• UND's season comes to an end with a 14-42 record

How It Happened 
1st | USD | Villotta scored the first run of the game from third base on a wild pitch
1st | USD | White rocketed a single through the right side of the infield to score Conte to go up 2-0
1st | USD | Terrazas doubled down the left field line to score one runner but the second runner was thrown out at the plate
4th | UND | Mariah Peters' double to the left field fence scored Cassie Castaneda to bring home UND's first run
4th | UND | Brooklyn Morris singled back up the middle and with aggressive base running, scored Katelyn Neumayer and Peters to tie the game at three
4th | USD | With the bases loaded, Moser reached base on an error from the UND infield and scored the runners from second and third to go up 5-3
5th | UND | Katelyn Neumayer laced a double to left center and brought home Taya Hopfauf from second
7th | UND | After review, the runner trying to score from third on a Castaneda sacrifice fly was called safe due to obstruction by the catcher to tie the game at 5-5
10th | USD | With one out and a runner on third, the Coyotes executed a squeeze bunt to score the winning run  

For more information on North Dakota softball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDsoftball.