COLLEGE PARK, Md. – North Dakota State softball picked up a day one sweep of the Capital City Classic on Friday as the Bison defeated Binghamton 5-4 and Maryland 3-2 to reach program win No. 1200.
 
Friday evening's victory over the Bison was the 1200^th victory for the program, dating back to win No. 1 on April 20, 1976, as NDSU improved to 1200-877-2 all time.
 
Friday's games also came exactly six years to the day after NDSU defeated Binghamton and Maryland on the same field in the only other meeting with the two programs.
 
The Bison offense struggled early on as NDSU was held scoreless through the first five innings against the Bearcats. Binghamton took the lead in the second inning with three runs on an RBI single and a two-RBI triple. Binghamton would load the bases in the fifth and capitalized on a wild pitch to add a fourth run to extend the lead.
 
Despite getting baserunners on in four of the first five innings, NDSU didn't threaten until the sixth when two singles by Molly Gates and Dez Cardenas and an error to begin the inning allowed the Bison to load the bases. Carley Goetschius put the Bison on the score sheet with a two-RBI single to left that ultimately cleared the bases following an error to cut Binghamton's lead to 4-3.
 
In the seventh inning, Emilee Buringa drew a one-out walk and then scored to tie the game following a double to left center by Gates. Following a walk from Cardenas, Gates scored from second on a grounder to second that Maykut beat out on a fielder's choice that saw Cardenas out at second.
 
Paige Vargas would enter in the seventh and record two strikeouts and a pop out for her first save of the season. Savy Williams picked up the win in relief, allowing just one hit in 1.2 innings with a strikeout.
 
Gates and Goetschius each went 2-for-4 at the plate in the game with Gates accounting for three runs with two scored and one batted in. Buringa and Cardenas also reached twice, with both going 1-for-3 with a walk.
 
In game two, the Bison would come from behind twice as NDSU would immediately respond to runs from the hosts. Maryland took the lead with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second.
 
Gates would then draw a two-out walk in the top of the third and Cardenas would hit a double to left field to bring Gates around and tie the game up at 1-1.
 
Maryland would retake the lead in the fourth, executing a squeeze play with a bunt single that allowed the runner from third to score. However, the Bison would get two runners on in the top of the fifth and a ball in play to the right side allowed Ciara Jensen to score from third to tie the game at 2-2.
 
In the next at bat, Cardenas picked up her second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Buringa from third.
 
The one-run lead would be all that Vargas would need, as she tossed a complete game for the win. Vargas improved to 8-4 on the season, allowing six hits with no walks and two strikeouts. She forced 15 ground outs in the game.
 
The Bison will be back in action on Saturday as they take on Army West Point and Monmouth. First pitch against Army is slated for 8:30 a.m. with the Monmouth contest immediately following.