BLOOMINGTON, Ind.--North Dakota State pitcher
Krista Menke struck out 13 and threw her fifth career one-hitter to lead the Bison to a 5-0 win over Wright State University on Sunday, March 16, at the Indiana University Hoosier Classic.
NDSU (16-5) is scheduled to play Indiana University (8-18) at 2 p.m. Central Time Monday, March 16. It starts an eight-game week for the Bison, scheduled to play a doubleheader at Illinois on March 17, and single games at DePaul on March 18 and Northern Illinois on March 19 before opening Summit League play at Western Illinois on March 21-22 in Macomb.
Menke, a 5-foot-11 senior righthander from Friend, Neb., no-hit Wright State (2-16) for six innings before Jess Gorman's single to right with one out in the top of the seventh. She retired the first 19 batters in a row. It was Menke's fifth shutout of the season and 26th of her career
Menke struck out 13 batters and issued no walks. She faced 22 batters, throwing 72 strikes out of 95 total pitches. Menke reached double-figure strikeouts for the 10th time this season and 17th of her career.
North Dakota State struck first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Tabby Heinz led off with a single. With one out, pinch-runer
Courtney Johnson stole second and moved to third on a
Alex Sobrero's base hit. Following a Sobrero steal,
Logan Moreland rapped a two-RBI double.
The Bison extended the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth.
Martiza Lopez-Portillo smacked a two-out solo home run to left field. It was Lopez-Portillo's second home run of the season.
NDSU extended the lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth.
Cheyenne Garcia and Moreland started the frame with infield singles and moved into scoring position on
Alyssa Reina's ground out to the right side.
Amanda Grable delivered a two-run single down the right field line to close out the scoring.
Moreland went 2-for-2 with a double, two RBI and a run scored to lead North Dakota State.
Montana Wear (2-10) took the loss for Wright State. Wear allowed seven hits, walked two and struck out one.
