The North Dakota softball team lost to St. Thomas 10-2 in six innings on Thursday afternoon at South Field, according to an April 30 announcement. With this result, North Dakota drops to a record of 27-23 overall and 4-11 in the Summit League, while St. Thomas improves to 33-16 and holds an 11-4 mark in conference play.
The game saw the Tommies outscore the Hawks despite both teams having similar hit totals; St. Thomas recorded eight hits compared to North Dakota’s seven but was more effective at converting those opportunities into runs. North Dakota left eleven runners stranded on base throughout the game, while St. Thomas left only two.
Jaedyn Valdez and Makenna Alexander led the Hawks offensively with two hits each, while Brooklyn Morris, Taya Hopfauf, and Hailey Bethune each contributed one hit apiece. Valdez also had the team’s lone run batted in.
Pitcher Tegan Livesay took the loss for North Dakota and now has a season record of 13 wins and nine losses. She allowed six earned runs on six hits over five innings pitched, walking six batters and striking out four. Unity Nelson entered for relief during the sixth inning but gave up three runs on two hits with three walks.
North Dakota opened scoring early with a run in the first inning after Jaedyn Valdez drove home Brooklyn Morris with a single to center field. However, St. Thomas quickly responded with two runs in their half of the first inning—including an inside-the-park home run by Avery Wukawitz—and added four more runs in the second frame fueled by Grace Nosan’s two-run homer.
Despite some offensive chances for North Dakota—including leaving bases loaded twice—the Tommies extended their lead through timely hitting and ultimately ended the contest via run rule after scoring three times off Nelson in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Game two of this series is scheduled for tomorrow at 1 p.m., available on Midco Sports Plus and The Summit League Network.
