Feb. 25, 2018

The busy schedule for North Dakota State sports continued at full speed this past weekend. Both the baseball team and softball team were on the road, checking more games off their list. The women’s golf team also started off their season this weekend as well.

Baseball

The baseball team kicked off a trio of games Friday down in Edinburg, Texas against Portland. NDSU suffered a close 2-1 loss in the opening game. The Bison’s single score came in the bottom of the first inning when sophomore Carter Thompson batted in freshman Peter Brookshaw. The Herd held the lead until the third when Portland scored two to take the lead. Zach Smith gave up just the pair of runs over seven innings of work for the Bison.

NDSU took on UT Rio Grande Valley in the second game of the Al Ogletree Classic. The story would stay the same for the team with another loss, this one 8-3. Although the game started well with NDSU leading 3-1 at the end of fifth inning, it quickly fell apart. Rio Grande Valley scored seven runs in the sixth inning to seal their victory and even up their overall record at 3-3. In the other dugout, the Bison watched as they fell to a sad 1-4 record.

NDSU finished the weekend with a doubleheader with rematches against both teams Sunday. The Bison travel to Northern Colorado for a four-game series next weekend.

Softball

Another weekend, another duo of games against ranked opponents for the Bison softball team. At the Tiger Invitational, NDSU faced hosts No. 21 Auburn Tigers. The Tigers proved too much for the Bison in the opening game of the weekend, taking the game 4-1. The single score for the Bison came in the third inning from an RBI single by Stephanie Soriano.

NDSU bounced back in the second game of the weekend, beating Troy 3-2 in nine innings. With international rules in play, meaning a runner was placed on second in extra innings, Maddie Hansen plated Madyson Camacho to win the game.

Saturday’s rematch against Auburn was a short affair. The Tigers scored a total of seven runs in the first two innings and added three more in the fifth to get the game called early, with the final score reading 10-2.

That evening the Herd’s luck would change in the penultimate game of the tournament. NDSU beat Villanova in dominant fashion with a 6-1 win. NDSU controlled the matchup from the start, scoring four in the first inning. This came in part thanks to a double from Soriano that brought home Sam Koehn, Hansen and Cara Beatty.

NDSU closed out the Tiger Invitational against Eastern Illinois and will travel for a five-game tournament at Stanford next weekend.

Women’s golf

Throughout Saturday, NDSU also got to see the start of season for the women’s golf team. The Bison golfers were down in Phoenix, Arizona for the Grand Canyon Invite. Playing on the GCU Championship Course, NDSU ended the first day in 11th place. The team was led by Emma Groom, who placed 10th overall after day one with a 75. The opening day was suspended due to darkness before the end of the second round wrapped up.