ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The North Dakota State softball team split the opening day of the Lobo Classic on Friday, defeating Buffalo 6-3 in the opener before falling to host New Mexico in game two 4-6.
Reanna Rudd was one of two major highlights in game one, as she homered in the fifth and seventh innings, becoming the first Bison to homer twice in a game since Vanessa Anderson did it at South Dakota State in a 9-2 win on April 12, 2018.
Paige Vargas improved to 4-1 on the season with a complete game against Buffalo (4-4). Vargas set a career high with 14 strikeouts in the game, the most by a Bison since Jacquelyn Sertic had 15 in a 4-0 win for NDSU against South Dakota State on May 11, 2018.
Buffalo jumped out to a lead in the second inning, but the Bison (8-3) immediately responded with two runs in the third on an RBI double from
Molly Gates and an RBI single by
Dez Cardenas.
In the fourth inning, the Bison extended the lead to 4-1 with a two-RBI single from
Cameryn Maykut, but Buffalo would plate two runs with a home run to cut the Bison lead back to one at 4-3.
Rudd provided two runs of insurance with her home runs, as Vargas didn't allow another run over the final three innings.
Dez Cardenas (3),
Skylar Padgett (2) and
Emilee Buringa (2) joined Rudd (2) with multi-hit games. It's the second three-hit performance of the season for Cardenas, which matches a career high. Rudd's two hits was the first multi-hit performance of her career.
In game two, the host Lobos jumped out to an early lead with five runs in the first inning and the game remained 5-0 until the Bison scored in the fourth on a Rudd single that scored
Avery Wysong.
New Mexico would add a run in the bottom of the fourth to reopen a five-run lead at 6-1.
NDSU would mount a comeback bid in the sixth and seventh. Wysong would hit an RBI double to score Maykut and then score on a
Carley Goetschius double to make it 6-3. In the seventh, the Bison would bring the tying run to the plate with one out, but were only able to get one run across, falling 6-4.
Mac Schulz would get the loss after allowing five earned on seven hits in four innings.
Lainey Lyle made her first appearance of the season in the circle in the fifth and sixth innings, pitching two scoreless with four strikeouts.
The loss snapped a six-game win streak for the Bison.
NDSU is set to return to Lobo Field at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday with a matchup against UTEP. The Bison will then play Tarleton immediately following, with that contest set for a 1:30 p.m. CT start.
