CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – North Dakota softball rolled to a pair of wins on Saturday at the Doc Halverson UNI-Dome Classic as the Fighting Hawks blanked Northern Iowa 3-0 then turned around and blitzed Drake to the tune of 16 hits in a 9-7 victory in the nightcap as UND moved to 2-2 on the season.
 
In Saturday's opener, the Hawks dominated UNI in the circle as a trio of UND arms in Tehya Armstrong, Camryn Lasota and Makaela Carr combined for a three-hit shutout of the host Panthers. Each pitcher surrendered a hit and all three picked up at least one strikeout with Lasota leading the way with three.
 
Armstong received the start for the Hawks and worked the first two frames stranding a collective three UNI base runners. Lasota took over in the third and faced 15 batters of which at one point she retired eight straight which included striking out the side in the fourth. Lasota was relieved in the seventh by Carr who pitched around runners at second and third by inducing a groundout to Joten at third to end the threat.
 
With the effort in the circle, Brooklyn Morris' two-run double in the third inning was more than enough for the Hawks in the rematch against UNI. The table was set by Quincie Chunestudey who led off the frame with a base hit and advanced to third on single by Joten who stole second to put runners at second and third. What proved to be an insurance run for the Hawks crossed in the fourth as a fielder's choice off the bat of Chunestudey plated Angie Dumlao who led off the top of the frame with a base knock into center field.
 
In the nightcap, and with the Hawks facing a quick turnaround, North Dakota erupted at the plate with Callie Honig leading the way with four hits and three RBI. Katelyn Neumayer followed with three hits and three RBI and three other Hawks collected two hits. Angie Dumlao recorded a pair of RBI.
 
Drake struck for two first-inning runs off of UND starter Jackie Albrecht, but the Hawks answered in their first trip to the plate as Dumlao doubled in a pair with two outs to even the contest at 2 through an inning. The Bulldogs grabbed a run back in the second, but RBI singles from Honig and Neumayer gave the Hawks a 4-3 lead.
 
In the fourth, Drake retook the lead with two runs off of reliever Katelyn Strauss, but once again the Hawks responded and plated two runs of their own as an RBI by Neumayer tied the game at 5, before a sacrifice fly off the bat of Taya Hopfauf pushed UND out front 6-5. In the Hawks' next trip to the plate, Honig doubled in a pair of runs with two outs and Neumayer added another run-scoring base knock as the Hawks' lead grew to 9-5.
 
UND withstood single runs by the Bulldogs in the sixth and seventh innings as Unity Nelson worked two thirds of a frame to grab the win, while Lasota picked up the save with 1.1 innings of work.
 
The Hawks return to action on Sunday to close out the opening weekend of action. UND rematches with Drake at 12:30 p.m. Live stats for the contest will be available at www.FightingHawks.com.
 
Postgame Notes

• The Hawks are at .500 in a season for the first time since February 25, 2022
• UND recorded consecutive games with 11+ hits since March 2-3 of last season
• The Hawks' 16 hits in the win over Drake are the most in a game since producing 18 against St. Thomas on April 15, 2023
• Joten, Morris and Neumayer have now reached in all four games for the Hawks
• Morris and Neumayer each have four-game hit streaks to start the season and Chunestudey has recorded hits in her previous three games
• Four different Hawks (Honig, Neumayer, Morris and Dumlao) have recorded multi-RBI games four games into the season
• Callie Honig's four-hit game vs. Drake is the first by a Hawk since Cassie Castaneda's four hits against St. Thomas (April 15, 2023)
• Neumayer, Dumlao and Chunestudey all enjoyed a four-hit day
• UND's nine runs in the win over Drake are the most scored by the Hawks since plating ten last season against Nebraska

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