GRAND FORKS ND – North Dakota nearly extended its season on Thursday evening in an elimination contest against South Dakota, but the Hawks were unable to hold onto a three-run advantage in the seventh as the Coyotes forced extra innings and survived the Hawks in the eighth inning winning 6-5. UND dropped its first game of the day to Omaha, 4-2. 

Senior Callie Honig lifted a 2-2 offering near the line in left field and a diving effort defensively was not enough for the Coyotes as Honig’s three-run triple broke open a 2-0 contest for the Hawks in the visiting half of the fourth.

A lead off single by Angie Dumlao and walks to Alaina Foreman and Katie Joten preceded a fielder’s choice by Chunestudey which set the two-out table for Honig.

Jackie Albrecht pitched 3.2 innings in a starting effort scattering five walks and just two hits, while holding the Coyotes off the board through the first three innings of action. Makaela Carr relieved Albrecht and tossed the final four innings. 

North Dakota carried a 5-2 lead into the top of the seventh, but stranded a two-out walk and a single. USD responded in the bottom half with a five-hit inning and took advantage of one error to plate three runs and force extra innings. In the eighth, UND put its first two runners on as Brooklyn Morris walked and Joten was hit-by-pitch. Chunestudey sacrificed the runners to second and third, but both were left on to leave the door open for the Coyotes. Back-to-back USD singles preceded a fly out and a foul out, but a base knock back up the middle plated the winning run. 

After each side stranded a walked batter on the base paths in the first, the Hawks used four straight walks to start the 2nd and land the game’s first run.

UND’s second tally of the frame came as a result of Quincie Chunestudey hustling for an infield single to plate a run. USD limited the damage by stranding the bases loaded full of Hawks.

In Thursday’s opener against the regular season champs, Omaha struck first with a two-run double off the bat of Sydney Thomason, but UND starter Makaela Carr limited the damage by fanning the next two Mavericks, the first of which crossed her over the 100-k mark for the campaign, and inducing a ground out to strand Thomason at second.

The Hawks saw their first five batters to the plate retired, but the sixth one, junior Taya Hopfauf, sent Summit League Pitcher of the Year Maddia Groff off the scoreboard in left field for UND’s first tally and the Dickinson native’s third home run of the season.

Omaha earned a run back in the third as Thomason doubled down the line in left field for her third RBI, while a solo home run by Katherine Johnson in the fifth staked Groff to a 4-1 lead. UND’s last tally came in the sixth as Callie Honig’s team-leading 16th double of the season caught chalk on the left field line and scored Makenna Alexander from first.

Carr went the distance for the Fighting Hawks scattering six hits and three walks to go along with three strikeouts and five stranded base runners. Groff won for the 24th time this spring and struck out eight.

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

Postgame Notes

  • The Hawks conclude a 2025 season that saw the squad match the single season program record for victories with 26
  • Hopfauf became the fifth Fighting Hawk to reach double-digit multi-hit games this season with her two-hit effort against Omaha
  • Dumlao recorded her seventh multi-hit game of the season against USD
  • Carr fanned a pair of batters in the bottom of the first against Omaha with her first of the two giving the Smithville, Missouri native her first career 100-strikeout season
  • Honig’s 16 doubles this season tie her for the third most in a single season in program history
  • Honig’s 37 RBI move her into a tie for fifth all-time on the single season list
  • She delivered her sixth multi-RBI game of the season against USD