LAWRENCE, Kan. - North Dakota State erupted for eight runs in the fifth inning to beat South Dakota 9-1 in the opening game of the Jayhawk Invitational on Friday, March 19, before falling to tournament host Kansas 11-9 in the final game of the day.

NDSU's Skylar Padgett was 2-for-2 with a double, home run, four RBIs and three runs scored against South Dakota, and Sam Koehn drove in two runs for the Bison in the victory. NDSU starter Paige Vargas pitched five innings allowing four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

The Bison got another big inning against Kansas scoring four runs in the top of the third to erase a 1-0 deficit. Madyson Camacho drew a bases-loaded walk, Padgett delivered a two-run single up the middle, and Montana DeCamp's groundout scored Camacho.

Kansas cut the lead to 4-2 in the third before going ahead for good with a seven-run fourth inning. NDSU got three runs back in the fifth on an RBI double by Stephanie Soriano and a two-run single by Avery Wysong to make it a 9-7 game.

It was 11-7 entering the seventh inning before the Bison got an RBI double from Wysong and an run-scoring infield error off the bat of Dez Cardenas. NDSU had the tying runs at second and third with two outs, but a ground ball ended the game.

North Dakota State (5-12) continues play in the Jayhawk Invitational on Saturday, March 20, against Kansas at 3 p.m. and Tulsa at 5:30 p.m.