North Dakota at Omaha || 3/29-3/30 
75th meeting, UNO leads 65-9
Omaha, Neb. (Connie Claussen Field)

FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Summit League play resumes for North Dakota softball as the Fighting Hawks head to Omaha for a three-game series with the preseason favorite Mavericks. Saturday's  doubleheader is slated for a 11 a.m. start, while the finale is scheduled for Sunday at noon. Live coverage links are available at www.FightingHawks.com. 

THE MATCHUP
» North Dakota and Omaha prepare for the sixth series meeting as conference opponents this weekend in Nebraska. The series opener will be the 75th meeting in a series that saw its first pitch tossed in May of 1984. 

» The preseason favorite Mavericks have gotten the best of the Hawks as of late winning eight of the past nine games with two series sweeps since the start of the 2022 season.

» UND claimed the first ever Summit League series between the two squads taking two of three games at the end of March in the 2019 season. The Hawks took the rubber match with a wild 18-12 victory in 13 innings. The two sides split a four-game series in the spring of 2021. 

» Omaha enters having lost their last three games including a midweek tilt to Nebraska. The Hawks look to rebound from a 2-1 series loss to South Dakota. UND is 7-8 on the road this season. 

» The Hawks carry a top 50 strikeouts per seven rate (6.23) nationally into its matchup with the Mavericks. UNO counters with the league's best such rate at 6.89 which ranks 22nd in DI. UNO also holds the nation's 13th best K-to-BB ratio at 3.19 and leads the Summit League in WHIP at 1.11. 

» UNO's Maddia Groff holds the league's second-best ERA (1.89), while Marra Cramer leads the league in home runs (8). 

» UND's Katie Joten ranks second in the SL in on-base percentage (.500) and leads all SL hitters in hit-by-pitch (8). Camryn Lasota holds the second-highest slugging percentage in the SL (.754).

QUICK PEEK AT THE RPI
North Dakota enters the final weekend of March with an adjusted RPI rank of 155. The Hawks are 2-4 against teams ranked in the top 100 of the RPI highlighted by its run-rule road win over Arizona State which currently holds an RPI of 24. This weekend's matchup against the Mavericks gives the Hawks three more contests against a top 70 RPI team as Omaha currently ranks 67. 

SUMMIT OPENERS
UND has dropped its last four Summit League-opening series and is 6-12 in 18 conference-opening weekend games played since the 2019 season. The Hawks are 2-4 in Summit League openers winning 3-1 over Omaha in its first-ever SL matchup in 2019 and claiming a 2-0, eight-inning win over Kansas City in 2022. 

SHE DID IT AGAIN
For the second time this season, North Dakota softball senior left-handed pitcher Makaela Carr has been named the Kwik Star Summit League Softball Peak Pitcher of the Week following a one-win, two-save weekend in Tennessee. Carr totaled 14.0 innings and collected 16 strikeouts to just three walks with a weekly ERA of 2.50 as her season ERA dipped below 3.00 and now sits at 2.91. The Smithville, Missouri native becomes the first Fighting Hawk to earn a weekly honor from the Summit League twice in the same season.

MIDWEEK SWEEPING
North Dakota took both ends of a doubleheader at Tennessee Tech on  March 11 as the midweek matchups were sandwich inbetween UND's trips to Atlanta and Johnson City. The Hawks won 7-4 in the opener and then 8-2 in the nightcap. It marked the first midweek sweep for the Hawks since taking two at Cal State Bakersfield on March 12 by scores of 8-2 and 7-4. 

MAKE THAT TWO FOR TAYA
For the second time this season, Taya Hopfuaf got the last say at the plate. In the seventh inning of UND's second game against ETSU, the junior took a 1-0 pitch back up the middle to plate Makenna Alexander who tied the game at 5-5 and Katie Joten who slid just under the tag at the plate to give the Hawks the walk off victory over the host Buccaneers. That action was preceded by a textbook sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Chloe Bethune that pushed the two runners to second and third.

ANOTHER ONE
The Hawks knocked off a second Power 4 foe via run rule in the B1G's Rutgers. North Dakota ended the second match up of its Atlanta weekend with the Scarlet Knights in six innings by claiming an 11-3 decision. It was nearly a sweep of Rutgers for the Fighting Hawks. UND dropped a 1-0 contest to the Scarlet Knights the night prior to the Saturday morning run rule. That action saw just one hit as UND's Jackie Albrecht and RU's Ella Harrison dueled to the tune of 28 combined strikeouts.

UND's pair of Power 4 wins this season (Arizona State, Rutgers) mark the third time that the Hawks have defeated two or more Power 4 programs in the same season. North Dakota knocked off Iowa State and Virginia in 2016 and beat Michigan State twice in 2019. This year marks the first time UND has run ruled two such foes. 

FOOL ME ONCE
Seven of UND's 16 wins this season have come against teams that previously defeated them in the same weekend (Northern Iowa, New Mexico, Buffalo, Rutgers, ETSU, Dartmouth, South Dakota). The other two instances that UND has played an opponent twice in the same weekend resulted in a sweep of Drake and a split with Wofford. 

NOT SINCE…
*UND's 15 runs scored against Colgate in its first game of the Bob Heck Memorial marks the most plated by UND in a game since plating 18 runs in a win over St. Thomas on April 15, 2023
*That run total is the most against a non-conference opponent since scoring 17 runs against Robert Morris on March 14, 2015, at a tournament hosted by Miami (OH)
*The Hawks hit four home runs against the Raiders, which is their most in a single game since hitting four against Sacramento State on April 15, 2017
*The Hawks have scored ten or more runs four times this season which equals the amount of ten-run games combined from the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons

FIVE-RUN SEVENTH TO WIN IT
North Dakota picked up its sixth win of the season in its final game in Texas. The Fighting Hawks showed plenty of fight in the seventh inning as they turned a 9-5 deficit in their last at bat into a 10-9 lead and the eventual win over New Mexico. The five-run seventh marked the most runs scored in the final inning by the Hawks since plating five in the fifth inning of a run-rule loss at Texas Tech (3/2/23) and are the most runs scored in the seventh inning since nearly completing a comeback against Green Bay falling 6-5 on February 26, 2023. 

RAALLYY, RAALLYY, THE PITCHERS HIT IT OUTIE
While it was a comeback win for the Hawks in their second meeting with New Mexico, there were several firsts for a pair of North Dakota arms… at the plate. Camryn Lasota hammered a two-strike pitch over the scoreboard in left centerfield for a 10-9 Hawks lead in the seventh for her first career home run. UND found the scoreboard in the third inning as Jackie Albrecht left the yard for the first time in her career for a 3-0 UND lead. Prior to Lasota's blast, Albrecht singled home a pair on a base hit up the middle to jump start the rally. The contest was both players' first multi-RBI games. For Albrecht, her two-run single in the seventh came in just her 15th career at bat as she started in the field for the first time as a Fighting Hawk. Lasota's homer came in just her 11th career at bat. 

TAKEDOWN IN TEMPE
North Dakota's win over Arizona State was the first victory over a Power 4 opponent since the Hawks took down Michigan State 9-5 on February 24, 2019, at the GCU Purple Classic in Phoenix. Two days prior to that win, the Hawks beat the Spartans 6-5. The victory was also the program's first road win over a Power 4 foe since edging Iowa State 1-0 in Ames on Valentines Day 2016, nine years ago to the day that UND knocked off the Sun Devils. Additionally, the Hawks' run-rule win over ASU is the program's first such result over a Power 4 foe in program history. 

JUMPSTART!
North Dakota's start to the 2025 season has been a long time coming for 11th year head coach Jordan Stevens. After dropping its first two games of the season, the Hawks rallied with wins over Northern Iowa (3-0) and Drake (9-7) to sit at .500 for the first time since February 25, 2022. 

The next day, the Fighting Hawks closed out the Doc Halverson UNI-Dome Classic with a 6-4, eight-inning win over Drake to move a game above .500 for the first time since starting the 2020 season at 3-2.

UND's 22 runs through five games are the most since scoring 30 to begin the 2018 campaign. The team's 48 hits through five games are the most in its Division I Era and are the most since 2000 when that year's squad also registered four dozen hits through the season's first five games. 

DRIVEN TO THE PEAK
On February 10, North Dakota softball senior left-handed pitcher Makaela Carr was named the Kwik Star Summit League Softball Peak Pitcher of the Week. Carr is the first Fighting Hawk since Adrianna Dilal in 2021 to earn the league's weekly pitching honor.

The Smithville, Missouri native appeared in three of UND's five games over the weekend with two starts and finished with a 1-1 record and a save at the Doc Halverson UNI-Dome Classic. In 15.0 innings pitched, Carr struck out 17 and allowed just three earned runs. She went the distance in both starts which included a gritty eight-inning, seven-strikeout effort against Drake to pick up her first win of the season.
 
Against Northern Iowa, Carr's second appearance of the season, she faced one over the minimum as she worked a scoreless seventh inning to cap off a combined three-hit shutout and earn her first save of the season against the host Panthers. The day prior, Carr tossed 6.0 innings against UNI scattering seven hits, one walk and a single run, while striking out nine.

ARMED AND READY
Carr leads UND in appearances (19), innings pitched (59.2), ERA (3.05), WHIP (1.27) and strikeouts (67). Carr leads with a 6-4 record, while freshmen arms Unity Nelson and Tehya Armstrong are a combined 7-1 with Armstrong unbeaten at 3-0. Carr has accounted for five of UND's seven saves and is responsible for three of the staff's seven complete games. Albrecht leads with four complete games and has a staff-low opponent batting average of .233. Nelson and Albrecht both follow with 40+ innings pitched and have combined for 86 strikeouts. 

North Dakota returned all 358.1 innings pitched from last season. Albrecht led the Hawks with 165.0 IP, appearing in 32 games with 29 starts as a junior. Senior Makaela Carr tossed 95.2 IP across 25 appearances of which 14 were in a starting role as a junior. Junior Camryn Lasota started 13 games and appeared in eight others totaling 82.2 IP in her sophomore season. Emily Marr, a freshman last spring and Katelyn Strauss, in her junior season, combined for 11 relief outings and 15 IP in 2024. 

A trio of first-year arms joined the UND pitching staff this season in Unity Nelson, Ginger Savelkoul and Tehya Armstrong. 

WALK IT OFF, TAYA
Taya Hopfauf hammered an eighth inning pitch in the opening weekend finale against Drake into right field for a ground-rule double to break a 4-4 tie and give North Dakota its third-straight win. It was Hopfauf's lone at bat of the day.

FEELING FRESH
It was a weekend of firsts at the plate for a trio of Fighting Hawks during opening weekend. True freshmen Quincie Chunestudey, Makenna Alexander and Alaina Foreman all made their UND debuts and in the process registered their first career hits. Chunestudey started all five games and ended the weekend with the third-highest average (.429) and was one of five Hawks with six hits. Alexander played in four games with three starts, hit .444 and stole two bases. Foreman saw action in three games making a pair of starts with two hits, two runs and an RBI. 

Tehya Armstrong made her first career start against Northern Iowa and tossed two innings allowing one hit and two walks, while striking out two. Unity Nelson appeared in two games in relief and totaled 2.2 innings with two strikeouts, while dispersing three hits and four walks.

NO SUGAR JOTEN IT
Joten has walked 19 times to go along with eight HBP. She's one of six Hawks to successfully swipe a bag this season and one of four with multiple steals. Joten has crossed home a team-leading 27 times this season. 

She not only found her way on the basepaths but became familiar with moving around the basepaths in 2024. Katie Joten's junior year saw her lead the Fighting Hawks in walks (25), HBP (14) and stolen bases (13) and score the second most runs (19). She ranked second in the SL in HBP, third in walks and was one of five SL players with 13 or more stolen bags. Additionally, Joten led the league in defensive assists (126). She is the lone Hawk to return in 2025 that saw action in all 56 games a season ago. 

SWING ON 'EM
Katelyn Neumayer paces the offense with 35 hits, Joten follows with 34 hits, and Honig has added 28. Seven hitters have 15+ hits this season. Joten and Honig are tied for the team lead in doubles with nine and each have totaled 11 extra base hits. Lasota leads the power portion of the UND lineup with seven home runs, while Hopfauf, Albrecht, Honig, Alexander, Neumayer, Joten and Hailey Bethune have all left the yard this season. 

RECORDING RIBBIES
Lasota paces the Hawks in RBI with 22, Honig follows with 21 and Neumayer has added 20. Lasota leads with eight multi-RBI games and Hopfauf follows with seven. Jackie Albrecht holds the single-game high this season with five against New Mexico.

DID IT WITH TWO
Timely hitting played a big part in North Dakota's successes through the first month of play. Of the 22 runs plated by the Fighting Hawks during the opening weekend, 13 crossed with two outs. In five games in the desert, UND plated 18 runs. Of the 18, half were produced with two outs. Down in Texas, the Hawks plated 14 runs with four crossing with two outs. In South Carolina, UND plated 22 runs of which seven crossed with two outs. 43% of UND's runs scored during its first 18 games of the season crossed with two outs.

All eight of North Dakota's runs scored against South Dakota in the Summit League opening series were plated with two outs. 

THAT WAS CLOSE
No stranger to tight games, just under half (27) of UND's 56 games in 2024 were decided by two or fewer runs. Of the Hawks' 42 losses, 13 were decided by a single run, while another five were decided by just two runs. On the winning side, North Dakota claimed eight one-run victories among 14 wins in 2024. 

Jump forwarded to the 2025 season and half of the Hawks' 16 defeats have come by two or fewer runs, while eight of UND's 16 victories have been decided by two or fewer runs. In all, 16 of the Hawks' 32 games have been decided by two or fewer runs. 

POLL POSITION
North Dakota softball was tabbed to finish tied for sixth by the Summit League head coaches. The Fighting Hawks received 13 total points as did their in-state neighbors to the south. Poll spots three through seven were decided by just eight points, while Omaha, 2024 champ and preseason favorite this year, received 35 points and five first-place votes with South Dakota State receiving 32 points and the remaining two first-place nods. Last season, the Hawks finished sixth in the league standings with a 6-12 record.

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN
Seniors Jackie Albrecht and Angie Dumlao were named North Dakota's "Pitcher to Watch" and "Player to Watch", respectively. Both players received recognition at the conclusion of the 2024 regular season as Albrecht was named to the All-Summit League second team as a pitcher, while Dumlao was selected as an All-Summit League honorable mention as an infielder. 

Jackie Albrecht | North Dakota | RHP | Senior | Barrington, Ill.
*2024 All-Summit League Second Team selection (P)…One of six pitchers last spring to boast sub-3.00 ERA (2.93)…One of four league pitchers with a sub-2.00 ERA in league play…Third among Summit League arms in starts (29) and innings pitched (165.0) and fourth in complete games (15), strikeouts (131) and opponent batting average (.233)…Hit just three batters in 738 batters faced (league-low among arms with 90.0+ IP)… 83 strikeouts from becoming program's fourth pitcher with 400 career strikeouts…

Angie Dumlao | North Dakota | INF | Senior | Downey, Calif.
*2024 All-Summit League Honorable Mention selection (INF)…Held a top 15 batting average among Summit League hitters (.288)…Led UND with eight multi-hit games…One of four Hawks with three or more multi-RBI games…Led Hawks with .646 OPS…Ranked second on the team with a .320 slugging percentage and 36 hits…Fourth on the team with a dozen RBI…

STEVENS AT THE HELM
Head coach Jordan Stevens coaches into year 11 at North Dakota after arriving to Grand Forks following a four-year stint at Valparaiso. In ten seasons guiding the Hawks, Stevens and UND have totaled a program-best 180 victories. He has accounted for 25% of the program's dozen 20+ win campaigns which includes a single-season program record 26 wins in 2018 and just the second three-season stretch of 20+ victories. There have been 19 seasons of at least 17 wins in North Dakota softball history with Stevens responsible for nearly a third of those. 

ROAD HAWKS
North Dakota will play its first 37 games of the schedule away from Grand Forks. Harsh temperatures usually prevent the Hawks from opening up any sooner than in the month of April. An April 2 matchup with Mayville State, the first official action scheduled for the brand new Albrecht Field, will be the earliest, barring weather (!), that UND has played in Grand Forks since 2018 when the Hawks hosted Montana in a three-game Big Sky series on March 30-31. The Hawks are unbeaten at home with a 7-0 record in the month of March since the program's inaugural season of 1977. 

TOP 25 TUSSLES
While mid-major programs blanket the Hawks' schedule this season, there has been no shortage of Power 4 opposition or nationally ranked foes. North Dakota has matched up against two teams ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association DI preseason Top 25 in No. 25 Washington and No. 20 Oregon. Additionally, the Hawks battled Grand Canyon and will meet preseason SL favorite Omaha who are both currently receiving votes and did so to start the season. North Dakota beat the BIG 12's Arizona State in Tempe and the B1G's Rutgers in Tennessee and will meet Minnesota (twice) and Pittsburg during the last weekend of April. 

BRAND NEW DIGS
Officially opened on September 21, 2024, Albrecht Field, the new crown jewel of UND Softball, will allow UND to host games on campus for the first time in program history, features over 500 spectator seats, a special party deck in left field, an LED videoboard and is pet friendly. Large dugouts, a dual-purpose batting cage/bullpen and a state-of-the-art turf playing surface are just a few of the new amenities that UND softball student athletes will enjoy. The stadium is located across the street from the Frederick D. Pollard Athletic Center and soon-to-be completed Nodak Insurance Company Sports Performance Center, which features new locker rooms, weight room and sports medicine area for the softball program.