This past week North Dakota State Athletics saw the women’s basketball program reach the Summit League championship game for the first time in program history, the baseball team take on defending national champion LSU in Baton Rouge, and the softball team pick up a few wins on their California road trip. Here is the weekly recap of Bison athletics from March 11 through the 17.
Men’s Golf
NDSU men’s golf headed to Bandon, Oregon, for the Bandon Dunes Championship. Nate Adams started on the right foot as he was tied for the lead after 10 holes and the team was tied for fifth with Oregon at six over par in a 16-team field. However, after the 10th hole was in the books the skies opened and the championship was halted for rain. The tournament was canceled the next day as the rain made the course conditions unplayable. Jack Johnson finished tied for eighth and Ian Simonich finished tied for 41st. The golf team will head to La Jolla, California, and the Torrey Pines golf course to participate in the UC San Diego Invitational.
Women’s Golf
The women’s golf team was at the Red Rocks invitational at Oakcreek Country Club in Sedona, Arizona, where they sat in 9th place after day one as the team shot three over par. The next day wasn’t great either as the team finished in 12th out of 20 teams. Madi Hicks was the team’s best player on both days as she finished in 23rd place as she shot six over par. Elise Hoven and Norah Roberts also finished in the top 40 as they finished tied for 37th place. The Bison will be off for two weeks before the Golfweek/Any Given Tuesday event at the Caledonia Golf Club in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. The event will be held from April 1 through the 3.
Softball
NDSU Softball is looking to get back to their winning ways at Pacific on March 12, and they did as they picked up a 2-1 win in extras. The Bison were behind after five, but Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage tied the score in the sixth by hitting her fourth home run of the season to tie the score at 1. In the eighth, the Bison would capitalize on two Pacific errors and force the winning run on a walk. Kaitlyn Dunford picked up the win in relief for the Bison. The team then headed to Moraga, California, and the St.Mary’s tournament. NDSU dropped its first two contests as they lost 8-3 to Marist and 1-0 to St.Mary’s. The team then split its last two games as they beat Marist again 2-0 then lost to St.Mary’s 12-2. NDSU softball now heads into conference play where they will take on Omaha.
Baseball
Bison baseball had one more stop before they opened up Summit League at Omaha, the defending national champion LSU Tigers. The Bison dropped both games by the scores of 6-1 and 7-0, but it was a good experience for the team before facing off against Omaha where they had plenty of success. To read more about the Omaha series please read Cash Rohman’s recap of the three-game set with the Mavericks.