FARGO – Callie Honig delivered again for North Dakota this time in the eighth inning of Sunday’s Summit League rubber match with North Dakota State as the senior dropped a two-run base hit over the shortstop in the visiting half of the eighth to give the Hawks a 5-3 lead. In the bottom half, the Fighting Hawks turned to Makaela Carr with two out and two on and the senior needed just four pitches, all strikes, to dismiss the Bison and give UND the series win and its sixth win over its Peace Garden State foe in the last seven games. North Dakota improves to 24-19 overall with a 7-5 mark in league play. NDSU falls to 16-22 overall with a conference record of 3-6.

Honig’s heroics in the final frame came on her third hit of the game and sixth of the series and she finished with three RBI on Sunday and four for the series. Carr’s one batter faced, with runners at first and second, earned her a ninth save this spring. Unity Nelson, who relieved starter Jackie Albrecht after 2.2 innings, went 5.0 innings to win for the sixth time in her rookie season.

The table was set for Honig with a leadoff single by Camryn Lasota to start the eighth. A fielder’s choice in Angie Dumlao’s at bat erased Lasota and put one on with two gone for Katie Joten. Joten will remember her 100th hit as a Fighting Hawk as one that extended the frame and eventually saw her score on Honig’s knock which plated pinch runner Alaina Foreman for the go-ahead run after Brooklyn Morris was plunked on a 1-2 count to load the bases.

Double production in the visiting half of the first inning put the Hawks on the board first. Morris doubled just inside the left field line to put a RISP for UND with one out in the frame. Two pitches later, Honig traded places with a run-scoring two bagger to stake Albrecht to an early 1-0 advantage.

In the second, the Hawks added a second tally as UND’s third double, another shot into left field this time off the bat of Taya Hopfauf, plated Makenna Alexander.

Albrecht stranded the bags full of Bison in the bottom of the first inning as NDSU was unable to capitalize on three free passes. She worked around a free pass in the second and after running into trouble in the third which saw NDSU plate its first run, Nelson entered in relief and delivered a big punchout to strand the bases loaded and keep the 2-1 lead intact.

The Hawks took that run back in the fourth as Joten doubled home Hopfauf. UND carried a 3-1 lead into the seventh, but the Bison responded with two runs to force extra innings after a popout to Joten at short turned into a double play as the potential winning run was doubled up to end the frame.

The Hawks return home and prepare for a three-game Summit League series with St. Thomas on Friday and Saturday from Albrecht Field. Live coverage links for the series are available at www.FightingHawks.com.

For more information on North Dakota softball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDsoftball.

Postgame Notes

  • The win marked the 11th victory for the Hawks this season that has been decided by two or fewer runs and the 20th game overall
  • Sunday’s win gives UND its first series win in Fargo in its Division I membership (2009) and the first since taking both ends of a doubleheader on April 17, 1995
  • The victory gives the Hawks seven Summit League wins: the most for UND since winning nine in 2023
  • Albrecht and Nelson allowed just one NDSU hit through six innings of action
  • The Hawks recorded a dozen hits for the fifth time this season and it stands as the 11th game this season with 10+ hits for UND
  • Honig’s multi-hit game total this season moves to 12 games, and it was her third with three or more hits this season
  • Neumayer’s hitting streak moved to an active team-best five games, while her active reached base streak grew to a team-leading seven games
  • Honig’s hit streak improved to four games and she has reached safely in each of the past five games
  • Joten’s two hit day, her 11th multi-hit game of the season gives her 100 for her career as a Fighting Hawk