SHREVEPORT, La.--Jake Laber pitched eight strong innings for his first win and North Dakota State rallied for three runs in the ninth inning to beat Centenary 5-4 in Summit League baseball Friday, May 2.

The Bison trailed 4-2 before Ryan Langlais led off the ninth inning with the first of four straight singles.  Kyle Harrison drove in Langlais with the third hit, and Harrison scored the go-ahead run on Luke Otto's two-out single.

Laber retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced and struck out four with only one walk to up his record to 1-5.  He scattered seven hits, but a pair of two-out singles were nearly enough for Centenary to win.

North Dakota State led 1-0 in the fourth after Tim Jallen led off with a triple and scored on a Langlais sacrifice fly, but Centenary second baseman Tim Deering put the Gentlemen up 2-1 with a two-out single in the bottom of the fourth.

The Bison (10-23, 3-9) knotted the game in the seventh when Sebastian Miles singled and scored on a Shannon Ekermans sacrifice fly two batters later, but the Gents went ahead on Jomar Tabor's two-run triple in the bottom of the seventh.

NDSU closer Shane Bushland started the ninth and retired the Gents in order for his third save of the season.

Laber's eight innings ran his career total to 263, passing the school record of 260 innings set by former Bison pitcher Mike Peschel from 1999-2003. 

Miles, Harrison and Chad Berg were all 2-for-4 for North Dakota State.  Deering and Teddy Saenz both had two hits for Centenary (24-19, 7-10).

Justin Kraft pitched into the ninth inning for the Gents but slipped to 8-3 with the loss.  Kraft struck out five, walked none, and allowed only three earned runs on nine hits.

The four-game series continues with a noon doubleheader Saturday, May 3.