PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - The North Dakota State baseball team split a pair of games to open the weekend in Florida, defeating Eastern Michigan 12-7 to start the day before falling 4-3 to Saint Louis.

The Bison are now 3-7 on the season. NDSU will return to action on Sunday, March 1, for a doubleheader against St. Bonaventure in Punta Gorda, Fla. First pitch is scheduled for 8 a.m. (central).

NDSU had 15 hits in the opener against Eastern Michigan, with Brock Anderson, Tucker Rohde and Nick Emanuel each having three. Peter Brookshaw and Bennett Hostetler each had a pair of hits, as Brookshaw tied the school record with two triples in the game. Rohde drove in three runs, while Anderson, Hostetler and Jack Simonsen each plated a pair. Max Loven improved to 2-0 on the mound, as he picked up the victory in six innings of work. Loven allowed three runs on six hits, while striking out six. Wyatt Nelson tossed the final 1.1 innings, allowing a hit.

The Bison took a 2-0 lead within the first seven pitches of the game and extended that to 5-0 in the top of the second. Leading 7-3, NDSU broke the game open in the sixth with five runs. The Eagles plated four runs in the eighth inning.

In the nightcap, six players tallied a hit, while Brookshaw drove in a pair of runs. Calen Schwabe had the other RBI for the Bison. Tristen Roehrich took the loss in the start, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out three, in three innings. Evan Sankey struck out seven in four innings, while allowing three hits and two walks. Parker Harm struck out one, while Gabe Pilla struck out a pair in the final two innings.

Saint Louis scored in the top of the first and added three runs in the third. The Bison scored a run in the third, fifth and sixth innings.