ABILENE, Texas – Abilene Christian scored two late runs in the eighth inning to edge the North Dakota State baseball team, 5-3, in the season opener at Crutcher Scott Field on Friday night.

After the Wildcats (1-0) grabbed a two-run lead in the opening frame, Will Busch answered for the Bison (0-1) in the second inning connecting on his first career home run to make the score 2-1. Following a run from Abilene Christian in the bottom half of the second, Calen Schwabe delivered a two RBI single into right field to lock the contest, 3-3, in the fourth stanza. The game then went scoreless for three innings until the Wildcats were able to push two runs across in the eighth to steal the 5-3 win.

Busch paced the Bison going 3-of-4 at the plate with two runs and one RBI. Max Loven got the start on the mound and tossed four strikeouts over 4.0 innings. Tristen Roehrich (0-1) picked up the loss and finished the final 4.0 innings with a game-high seven strikeouts.

NDSU will continue its four-game series with Abilene Christian tomorrow. The doubleheader is set to begin at 1:05 p.m.