Samper, Reina Each Hit Home Runs to Lead NDSU Past Indiana 9-5

Monday, March 16

Bloomington, Ind.

2 p.m.

North Dakota State

17-5

Indiana

9-19

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
North Dakota State	0	0	1	2	4	2	0	9	15	0
Indiana	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	5	5	3

Photo by: Stan Liu

Samper, Reina Each Hit Home Runs to Lead NDSU Past Indiana 9-5

3/16/2015 5:07:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.--Joei Samper hit her first collegiate home run and Alyssa Reina also went deep as North Dakota State University outlasted Indiana University 9-5 in the final game of the Hoosier Classic played Monday, March 16, at Andy Mohr Field.

NDSU (17-5) is scheduled to play the University of Illinois (8-15) in a doubleheader at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, in Urbana-Champaign.

North Dakota State had a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning when Samper, a freshman from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., broke open the game with a three-run shot to left field with two outs.

The Bison scored six of their first seven runs with two outs in the inning. Maritza Lopez-Portillo hit the third of three straight singles to score Logan Moreland with two outs in the third. Moreland's double and two IU errors led to two runs and a 3-0 lead in the fourth. Amanda Grable's RBI double to left center preceeded Samper's blast.

NDSU extended the lead to 9-0 in the top of the sixth inning on Reina's two-run home run to center. It was Reina's fifth home run of the season.

Indiana (9-19) erupted to five runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to 9-5. Shannon Cawley hit a grand slam and Mena Fulton followed with a solo home run to make things interesting.

North Dakota State matched its season-high with 15 hits led by Moreland, who went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Reina went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, two RBI and the home run, while Grable went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles.

Krista Menke (13-2) struck out 12, allowed five hits and walked three to record the complete game win. Menke reached double-figure strikeouts for the 11th time this season and 18th time in her career.

Lora Olson (6-12) and Miranda Tamayo pitched for Indiana with Olson picking up the loss. The pair combined to strike out three and walk three.