AUBURN, Ala. – The North Dakota State softball team opened up the Plainsman Invitational with a split on Saturday, defeating Brown 6-0 before falling to host #20 Auburn 9-0.
Paige Vargas tossed her first complete-game shutout of the season for the Bison (5-7) in the morning game, as she limited the Bears- (1-2) to three hits and a walk while striking out seven.
The Bison jumped out in front as
Kaylee Moore hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded for the first run of the game, scoring
Carley Goetschius. The Bison then capitalized on a two-out error as
Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage scored to give the Bison a 2-0 lead in the first.
In the third inning, Goetschius would score another run as she took home on a delayed steal in aa first-and-third double steal situation that saw Aguilar-Beaucage take second. Aguilar-Beaucage would then score on a
Bella Dean RBI single to make it 4-0.
In the next two at bats,
Ava Chavarria hit a sacrifice fly to score Moore and then
Skylar Padgett singled to left, bringing around Dean for the final run of the game.
In the second game of the day, the Bison become the second-straight team to be no hit by Auburn (13-1), falling in six innings on a walkoff run-rule defeat.
Lainey Lyle and the Bison held Auburn scoreless through the first three innings. NDSU got its only baserunner on when Padgett was hit by a pitch in the third inning.
Auburn would score four runs in the fourth inning to break a scoreless tie and then added five more runs in the sixth inning, ending the game on a grand slam.
The Bison will return to action on Sunday, taking on Brown and Auburn again to wrap up the Plainsman Invitational. First pitch against Brown is set for 9 a.m. with a noon start scheduled against Auburn.
