FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State softball team opened up the home schedule with a doubleheader sweep over Kansas City, winning 1-0 and 4-1 at Tharaldson Park on Saturday afternoon.
Paige Vargas (11-8) tossed a three-hit shutout in game one as the Bison (22-17, 4-4 Summit League) started the cold and windy day off with a narrow 1-0 victory. Vargas finished with seven strikeouts and allowed just one walk.
The Bison scored the only run of the game in the second inning.
Reanna Rudd worked a two-out walk and then
Avery Wysong hit a single to center field. The ball was misplayed by the center fielder and went all the way to the fence, allowing Rudd to score from first to give NDSU the lead.
Vargas wouldn't need any more run support, as she had three 1-2-3 innings and didn't allow a base runner past first the rest of the way with just a single and walk given up in the final five innings. The complete game shutout is the third of the season for Vargas and the fifth shutout of the year for NDSU.
With the game one victory, the Bison improved to 37-9 all-time in home openers and 15-2 in the Division I era.
In game two, the Bison would take the lead on another two-out base hit in the third inning and never trailed.
Dez Cardenas hit a triple to left field that scored
Emilee Buringa and
Molly Gates after two singles earlier in the inning.
Two runs would be more than enough for
Lainey Lyle (4-3), who would allow just one run on five hits as she picked up her third-straight complete game Summit League victory in three starts this season. Lyle would finish with one strikeout and no walks allowed.
Kansas City (8-25, 4-4 Summit League) would get it's only run in the fourth, but NDSU answered back in the bottom half as a two-out walk by Wysong set up an RBI double down the left field line from
Nicole Licea and Wysong scored to make it 3-1.
In the fifth inning, the Bison added another run on an RBI double, as Gates followed up a leadoff single from Buringa with the third extra-base hit of the game for NDSU as Buringa scored from first for the final run.
The Bison and Kansas City are set to meet in the series finale on Sunday with the first pitch for game three scheduled for 10 a.m. The start time was moved up from the original 11 a.m. start time due to potential weather forecasted in the Fargo area on Sunday.
