BROOKINGS, S.D. – The North Dakota softball team came up short against South Dakota State on Monday afternoon, falling 4-1 from Jerald T. Moriarty Field. UND drops to 22-14 and 0-3 in conference play, while SDSU moves to 20-20 overall and 5-1 in Summit League play.
The Hawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, but allowed four unanswered runs from the Jackrabbits. UND was outhit 10-3 in the contest, with the hits coming via
Katelyn Neumayer,
Jaedyn Valdez and
Brooklyn Morris. The away team left nine runners on base in the ball game.
Tehya Armstong fell to 5-4 on the season, going 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits and four runs, while walking none and striking out zero.
Unity Nelson threw 1.1 innings of scoreless ball, surrendering just two hits and striking out two.
How It Happened
Camryn Lasota,
Aleksia Severson and
Taya Hopfauf all reached on walks to start the game, loading the bases for UND with no outs. The Hawks came out of the frame scoreless after Neumayer struck out,
Hailey Bethune fouled out and
Makenna Alexander popped out, leaving the score at 0-0.
Fast forward to the top of the third, The Hawks had two more baserunners on, via walks from Lasota and Neumayer, putting runners on first and second with two outs and
Hailey Bethune coming to hit. Bethune fouled out to third base, keeping it tied. Through the first three innings, NoDak drew six walks, but were unable to score.
The Fighting Hawks struck first in the top of the fourth, with Valdez starting it off with a one-out double down the third base line. Following a
Chloe Bethune flyout, Morris drove in Valdez with a two-out, opposite field double to the right-center gap, giving the Hawks a 1-0 advantage.
The lead was short lived as South Dakota State responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth on four hits, giving the Jackrabbits a 2-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth, UND left on one of its nine base runners for the game, stranding Neumayer, who got on with a two-out single. SDSU scored two more in the bottom of the fifth on four hits, to open the game up to a 4-1 contest.
North Dakota's best chance to do something for the remainder of the game came in the top of the sixth, when Valdez was hit by a pitch and Morris walked, giving the Hawks runners on first and second with two outs. Lasota came to the plate and grounded out to second base, keeping the score at 4-1.
The Fighting Hawks went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, to drop the final game of the series by a score of 4-1. UND is set to take on Omaha in a three-game series from Albrecht field this weekend, with the first contest scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday.
For more information on North Dakota Softball, follow on social media @UNDsoftball or visit FightingHawks.com.
