WATERLOO, Iowa--Dane Embury's two-out single in the ninth inning scored Eric Hoffmann with the winning run as Northern Iowa defeated North Dakota State 3-2 in college baseball Friday night at Riverfront Stadium.

Embury's only hit in four at-bats came off NDSU reliever Shannon Ekermans (0-2), who entered in relief of starter Jake Laber to get a groundout and a strikeout before the winning hit.

Laber was responsible for all three UNI runs.  He allowed 11 hits, walked three and struck out five.

Laber's counterpart, Northern Iowa left-hander Aaron Jenkins, struck out a career-high 15 batters but did not factor in the decision.  He struck out the side in the first, fourth and eighth innings, and fanned each Bison hitter at least once.

UNI took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, Jeremy Weih and Travis Hendrix, delivered back-to-back RBI hits.

The Bison (7-20) cut the lead in half in the third when Jenkins issued four straight one-out walks to score second baseman Matt Watson.

NDSU tied the game in the sixth when outfielder Kole Zimmerman led off with his third home of the year.

Hendrix finished 3-for-4 for the Panthers (15-19).  Watson, outfielder Luke Otto and catcher Gavin Hofer each had singles for the Bison.

It was the 500th career win for Northern Iowa head coach Rick Heller.

The second game of the three-game series is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.