LONG BEACH, Calif. – The North Dakota State baseball team held off No. 25/RV Long Beach State, 5-4, on Friday night at Blair Field.

After Long Beach State (2-5) jumped out to a 1-0 edge in the first inning following a home run from Jonathon Long, Logan Williams answered for NDSU (5-4) in the third connecting on a two RBI single up the middle to steal the lead, 2-1. Jack Simonsen kept the momentum rolling into the fourth after he delivered an RBI single into right center to stretch the edge to 3-1.

Long Beach State, who entered the week positioned No. 25 in the D1 Baseball Top 25 Poll and was receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll, erupted for a three-run fifth inning to regain the lead, 4-3, after Eddie Saldivar sent an RBI single up the middle. Peter Brookshaw responded for the Bison in the sixth frame with a two RBI single into center field to steal the edge, 5-4. The Dirtbags made one final surge in ninth getting two runners on, but the Bison defense was able to hold off the final two batters to earn the 5-4 win.

The victory marks the first win over a top 25 opponent since 2016 when NDSU upended No. 19 Minnesota at Newman Outdoor Field.

Max Loven (1-1) picked up the win firing a season-high eight strikeouts with no walks over 6.1 innings. Tristen Roehrich registered his second save of the season with one strikeout over the final 2.2 innings.

The Bison totaled 10 hits as a team with eight different players contributing at least one. Brookshaw set the pace with two hits and two RBI, while Brock Anderson added in two hits and two runs.

NDSU will continue its three-game series against Long Beach State tomorrow. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m. CT