TUCSON, Ariz. - Ninth-hitting Bryce Ortega was 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead No. 25 Arizona to a 10-0 win over North Dakota State in the college baseball opener for both teams Friday, Feb. 18, at Jerry Kindall Field.

Leadoff man Joey Rickard was 3-for-5 with three RBIs for Arizona, which is ranked as high as 19th in the Baseball America poll.  Starting pitcher Kurt Heyer struck out eight batters in seven innings for the win.

The Wildcats got all the runs they needed in the bottom of the second with four consecutive two-out singles, the final two from Ortega and Rickard each scoring runs.

Ortega hit an RBI triple in the fourth and scored on a single by Rickard to make it 4-0.  Arizona first baseman Cole Frenzel, a sophomore from Dickinson, N.D., added an RBI single to make it 5-0.

Arizona tacked on five more runs in the seventh inning with a bases loaded walk to Alex Mejia, a two-run single from Ortega, an RBI groundout by Rickard, and another run-scoring single by Frenzel.

NDSU went hitless through the first four innings before a leadoff double from first baseman Zach Wentz in the fifth.  Center fielder Nick Anderson, catcher Tyler Steen, third baseman Jay Hartman and designated hitter Wes Satzinger each got hits for the Bison.

Starting pitcher Kyle Kingsley took the loss for NDSU.  Kingsley allowed five runs, four earned, on eight hits with one walk and no strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.  Simon Anderson pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for NDSU.

The second game of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. MT on Saturday, Feb. 19, and the series finale is at 12 p.m. MT on Sunday, Feb. 20.