North Dakota State Athletics
25-22, 9-7
South Dakota State
23-30, 5-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota State | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 15 | 3 |
| North Dakota State | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 14 | 0 |
NDSU Softball Tops SDSU in Walk-Off Thriller
4/30/2026 7:26:00 PM | Softball
The Bison trailed by four runs on three different occasions, but rallied to tie the game, including a run in the seventh to force extras and then in the eighth. With the game tied and a runner on third in the eighth, Amai Hanta laid down a bunt to squeeze home Morgan Zimmerman to win the game.
After South Dakota State hit a grand slam to go up 11-7 in the top of the sixth, Jessica Delatorre hit a two-run home run, followed by a solo home run from Mya Boos to make it 11-10. With NDSU down to their final out, Delatorre then provided an RBI single to score Hanta to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, completing a four-run comeback to tie the game at 11.
In the eighth inning, Taylinn Warren led off the inning with a single, before Zoe King doubled Warren home to tie the game again at 12-12, setting up the winning play two batters later.
SDSU took a 4-0 lead on two home runs in the top of the first inning. Delatorre, Ella Claus and Lileigh Nieto all had an RBI hit over the next three innings to cut the deficit to 4-3, before SDSU re-extended the lead to four runs in the fifth.
NDSU answered back in the bottom of the fifth with a four-run inning to tie the game. King started the scoring with an RBI, before Claus picked up an RBI and Star Cortez had a two-out, two-RBI single to tie the game at 7.
All nine Bison in the starting lineup recorded a hit, combining for 14 total for NDSU. Delatorre and Warren finished with three each, while Claus had two hits. Delatorre finished with a team high four RBI. Cortez, King and Claus had two RBI each. Seven different Bison also had a walk in the game, led by two each from Hanta and Bella Dean.
Piper Reed picked up the win in relief, allowing just one run on three hits with two strikeouts in two innings. Jocelyn McClary had two strikeouts in the first six innings.
With the win and other results around the Summit League, the Bison secured and are locked in to the No. 3 seed in next week's Summit League Championships.
NDSU and South Dakota State will play game two of the series on Friday, with first pitch set for 3 p.m. from Tharaldson Park.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Reed, Piper (3-7)
L: Tayler Baker (4-5)
Batting:
2B: Alli Boyle 1
HR: Akayla Barnard 2 ; Amanda Vacanti 3 ; Bria Riebel 1
RBI: Akayla Barnard 4 ; Amanda Vacanti 7 ; Bria Riebel 1
SH: Cece Hanson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Emma Vike 1 ; Abby Gentry 2 ; Akayla Barnard 4 ; Amanda Vacanti 3 ; Bria Riebel 1 ; Alli Boyle 1
HBP: Akayla Barnard 1
Batting:
2B: King, Zoe 1 ; Claus, Ella 1
HR: Delatorre, Jessica 1 ; Boos, Mya 1
RBI: Hanta, Amai 1 ; Cortez, Star 2 ; Delatorre, Jessica 4 ; Nieto, Lileigh 1 ; Boos, Mya 1 ; King, Zoe 2 ; Claus, Ella 2
SH: Hanta, Amai 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hanta, Amai 2 ; Dean, Bella 2 ; Delatorre, Jessica 1 ; Nieto, Lileigh 1 ; Boos, Mya 2 ; Warren, Taylinn 2 ; Hedrington, Haylie 1 ; Zimmerman, Morgan 1 ; Claus, Ella 1
SB: Claus, Ella 1
HBP: Nieto, Lileigh 1
