North Dakota vs. South Dakota State || 5/2 (DH) - 5/3 
98th meeting, SDSU leads 66-31
Grand Forks, N.D. (Albrecht Field)

FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - North Dakota and South Dakota State meet in the final regular season series of the season this weekend from Albrecht Field. The Fighting Hawks eye a move up the league standings as a second-place finish is still in reach for UND. The two sides meet for the 98th and 99th time in Friday's doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m., while the regular season concludes with the 100th meeting all-time between the Hawks and Jackrabbits on Saturday at 1 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.FightingHawks.com. 

THE MATCHUP
» The final week of the regular season for North Dakota Softball will be played out at Albrecht Field as the program prepares to honor eight student-athletes playing in Grand Forks for the final time. 

» The Hawks are in the middle of the Summit League standings at 7-8 overall with the Jackrabbits three games up in third place at 10-5. A UND sweep of SDSU would give the Hawks the two seed in next week's league tournament in Brookings. North Dakota is currently two games up on South Dakota and North Dakota State. 

» At series end, the two I-29 rivals will have met 100 times on the softball diamond. SDSU leads a series that first began in 1978 with an overall record of 66-31. The Jackrabbits have won a dozen-straight against the Hawks. UND last won over SDSU in 2019 when the Hawks took two of three games from the Jackrabbits in the first meeting between the two teams as Summit League foes. 

» SDSU leads the conference in hits (387), RBI (255), runs scored (268), on-base percentage (.393) and slugging percentage (.480). Abby Gentry leads the SL in batting average (.428), doubles (16), total bases (104), on-base percentage (.754) and slugging percentage (.754).

» Gentry has delivered 20 multi-hit games this season, one of five Jackrabbits to do so, and has recorded 16 multi-RBI games. She enters the weekend riding an eight-game hitting streak. 

» SDSU carries a 4.26 ERA as a pitching staff. Sylvia Shromoff leads the Jackrabbits with a 3.14 ERA. Tayler Baker paces the staff in victories with seven, while three other arms have accounted for no fewer than four. Baker leads with 71 strikeouts and 76.1 IP. 

FINAL TIME IN THE FORKS
For eight Fighting Hawks, Katelyn Strauss, Kaycee Hayes, Hannah Thompson, Callie Honig, Makaela Carr, Angie Dumlao, Katie Joten and Jackie Albrecht, this weekend's series will be their final collegiate action in Grand Forks. The senior class has been instrumental in helping UND produce one of its most successful seasons in program history. 

CHASING HISTORY
The 2025 Fighting Hawks find themselves chasing history as the program's single-season wins record of 26, which was set in 2018, is just a single win away for UND. The Hawks are in the midst of the program's second 25-win season; all of which have occurred since 2018. Additionally, North Dakota is hunting the program's first season with an above .500 finish since the flood-shortened season of 1997 when the Hawks went 12-10. The Hawks' last full season with an above .500 finish was in 1995 when UND went 21-18. A .500 or better finish in 2025 would be the fifth such conclusion to a season in program history.

CLOSING IN
UND's win over NDSU in the series finale gave the Hawks its seventh Summit League victory of the season marking the fourth season since the program's first year of SL action in 2019 that the program has reached seven conference wins. UND is two wins away from matching 2023's best such effort and three SL wins from reaching ten for the first time since 2018: UND's last as a member of the Big Sky Conference and the last time the Hawks finished .500 or better in conference play.

IN HER SIGHTS
Senior pitcher Jackie Albrecht enters senior weekend two strikeouts away from becoming the fourth UND arm to reach 400 strikeouts in her career. The Barrington, Illinois native is staring down a third-straight 100-strikeout campaign. If she reaches 400, she will join Tara Peterson (932), Kaylin VanDomelen (567) and Mikki Cochrane (494). VanDomelen holds the Division I career record. 

TURNIN' TWO
Erasing two base runners on the same play has been a staple of the Hawks' defensive effort this season. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, UND leads the Summit League with double plays turned (26): a mark that ranks 14th nationally. On three occasions, the Hawks have turned two double plays in the same game (Jamestown, St. Thomas, North Dakota State) and UND is coming off of a three double-play effort against Minnesota. 

TOUGH WEEKEND
UND suffered a trio of losses against Power 4 foes as Minnesota beat the Hawks twice, while Pitt won against North Dakota in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. UND used run-scoring first innings to grab quick leads in games against both foes, but would be unable to hold onto either advantage. 

Full game notes are attached above.