| Box Score 2

FARGO, N.D.--North Dakota State University raced out to an early 9-1 lead and then held off a late rally to defeat the University of South Dakota 11-8 on third day of the Summit League Softball Championship Tournament played Friday, May 9, at the Ellig Sports Complex. It's been a tournament dominated by home runs with 34 over the first seven games.

NDSU (31-16) is scheduled to play Western Illinois (19-27-1) at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 10, in a loser's bracket game. The Fighting Leathernecks defeated South Dakota State 10-4 in Friday's first game. Defending tournament champion Fort Wayne (40-13) beat IUPUI by the score of 9-4 to advance to Saturday's 2 p.m. championship game. The Jaguars (24-23) await the NDSU-WIU winner at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the loser's bracket final.

The Bison scored nine runs over the first three innings. Left-handed batting Logan Moreland hit her first of two home runs in the first inning, a solo shot to the opposite field with one out. Cheyenne Garcia then laced a double to left center and moved to third on an error. Garcia scored on Jackie Stifter's first of two sacrifice flies to right to make it 2-0.

NDSU scored four times to extend the margin to 6-0 in the top of the second inning. Alex Sobrero belted a solo home run to center with one out, her fifth of the season. Amanda Grable pushed a single through the right side with the bases-loaded to chase two runs home. Stifter closed out the scoring with her second sacrifice fly to right.

Katie Cochran, who would collect five RBI, put the Coyotes (29-22) on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning. Cochran made a diving catch of a line drive in foul territory, then stayed in the game after another liner deflected off her glove and hit her in the face. Both plays took place in the first inning and she remained in the game.

North Dakota State pushed the lead to 9-1 in the top of the third. Sobrero doubled and then scored on Moreland's RBI single. Grable stroked a two-run single to left, again with the bases loaded.

South Dakota made things interesting in the bottom of the fourth when Cochran hit a grand slam over the left field fence to cut the deficit to 9-5. The Coyotes closed the gap to 9-7 in the bottom of the fifth inning on Morgan Hancock's home run to center. Hancock went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

The Bison received a lift in the top of the sixth when Sobrero hit her second double of the game, this one to right center, and then scored on Moreland's second home run, a two-run shot with two outs that hit off the scoreboard in center field. That put NDSU ahead 11-7. Moreland hit two homers in a game for the second time this season and tied the school single-game record. Eleven different Bison players have achieved the feat 18 times.

NDSU's first three batters -- Sobrero, Moreland and Garcia -- combined to go 8-for-13 with 10 runs scored five RBI, three home runs and three doubles. The Bison finished with 12 hits overall and Jenina Ortega tied the NDSU single-game record with four walks.

South Dakota closed to within 11-8 in the bottom of the sixth on Lindsey Boyd's lead-off home run to left field.

Krista Menke (24-7) would pick up the win for North Dakota State. She left in the fourth inning, but re-entered the game to stop a USD rally with runners on first and third with no outs in the top of the seventh. Menke retired the first two batters on pop outs and registered her sixth strikeout of the game to end the game. Katie Thun allowed three hits and one run over two innings of relief, while Menke gave up seven hits and walked three.

Rachel Cue (18-10) and Madison Frain pitched for South Dakota with Cue taking the loss. The pair combined to walk eight and strike out five.