PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The North Dakota softball team recorded 10 or more hits for the ninth time this season, defeating Penn by a score of 10-1 on Wednesday afternoon from Penn Park. NoDak improves to 19-9, while the Quakers fall to 6-10.
UND tallied 12 hits on the day, powered behind a five-run seventh inning.
Hailey Bethune went 3-for-4 at the plate, with an RBI double, along with
Camryn Lasota, who knotted three runs batted in, going 2-for-5 at the dish. Jaedyn Valdez went 2-for-3, launching her first career home run in the seventh inning, while
Katelyn Neumayer,
Makenna Alexander,
Brooklyn Morris, Aleksia Severson and
Taya Hopfauf all had one hit.
Tegan Livesay tossed her eighth complete game of the season and her fourth straight complete game in appearances she has started. The junior threw 7.0 innings, allowing one earned run and six hits, while walking three and striking out three. She is now 8-4 on the season.
How It Happened
The first three innings were scoreless, until Morris lined an opposite field single to right, driving in Valdez to put NoDak up 1-0. Lasota next up, lined a two-RBI triple off the right field wall, bringing home
Chloe Bethune and
Brooklyn Morris, to make it 3-0 UND.
Lasota tacked on her third RBI of the game in the sixth on a bloop single to center field, driving in
Chloe Bethune, to put the Hawks up 5-0. Livesay got out of a jam in the bottom half, leaving runners on second and third, to escape, up 5-0 after six.
UND blew things wide open in the top of the seventh, started by Hopfauf reaching on an error to get the inning going. NoDak would rattle off four consecutive hits, started by back-to-back RBI doubles from Neumayer and
Hailey Bethune, to make it a 7-0 contest.
Alexander would then line an RBI single to right field, driving in Bethune, which was followed by a two-run no-doubter home run from Valdez to left center field. North Dakota led 10-0, with still zero outs. The Hawks would not score again in the top of the seventh.
The Quakers garnered a run in the bottom of the seventh, but the game was concluded on a wild, that Hopfauf gathered quickly and tossed it home to Livesay, who was covering the plate. Livesay tagged out Alex Holeman, ending the game at 10-1.
North Dakota will be in action again next Wednesday at the University of Washington. First pitch is slated for 8 p.m. CT.
For more information on North Dakota Softball, follow on social media @UNDsoftball or visit FightingHawks.com.
