The University of North Dakota softball team did something it has struggled with all season, rallying late.   

“That’s new for us. We have been snake bit late in games, and to see our club come through late is a big step forward for us,” Head Coach Jordan Stevens said. “We have had 40 games. I have not seen too much of that. So, to do that against them. It is a good day, and it makes it feel like things are starting to turn in our direction.”  

The University of North Dakota defeated North Dakota State University 5-4 and 1-0 in a two-game doubleheader on Saturday, April 20. Game one started favorably for the Bison, who scored two runs in the top of the first inning on a single to the right side. UND could not score and went into the second inning with a score of 2-0.   

UND got one back in the bottom of the second. Johanna Rodriguez hit a single to load up the bases, and then NDSU’s pitcher walked Izzy Haslett, giving UND their first run. From there, NDSU scored twice in the third and fifth innings to give themselves the 4-1 lead, which went into the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Brooklyn Morris flied out to right field, but Cassie Castaneda managed to run home and cut NDSU’s lead to two.   

The shift happened in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the bases loaded, Mariah Peters waited for a pitch that she could “hit hard,” and it came to her down the middle. She knew she had hit it well, saying it “felt good off the bat.”  

“I got down to two-two,  saw a pitch I could drive, did that and it worked out,” she said. “I was not sure if it was going to go over, but I know it definitely felt good off the bat, and I just got it past her head.”   

The ball went to center field, and Peters ran to second. Meanwhile, Castaneda, Olive Dick, and Rodriguez all ran home to give UND the lead with only an inning left to play.   

It was a good feeling for Peters who said this season has been a “grind.”   

“It’s been a grind this year, so being able to make good contact with the ball felt good,” she said. “Just being able to drive in the runs and put us on top felt good.”   

It was a predictable outcome though according to Stevens who said Peters has been having great turns at the plate recently.   

“She’s really been having great at-bats lately,” Stevens said. “She put a heck of a great swing on it. We had so many runners on base in that game, and finally, to come through with one lead was big.”   

In the top of the seventh, UND shut down NDSU, holding them to no runs. After trailing for most of the game, UND walked away with a one-run victory.   

The next game had a lot less scoring. UND brought in pitcher Makaela Carr for the second game of the doubleheader, and she pitched lights out, allowing NDSU only five hits and no runs.   

Carr said her dominant performance was fueled by the intensity of the rivalry.   

“I really wanted to go ahead and lock down the series,” she said. “I really enjoyed the game; it was a highly competitive game and a lot of energy.”  

Stevens had high praise for the sophomore’s performance, saying it was critical to diminishing NDSU’s offense.   

“They’re a really tough offense to fight against, but I thought she battled and commanded the zone, which was big,” Stevens said. “You can’t put their kids, especially their fast kids, on base..she threw a great game for us.”   

Car said her success came from her curve-spinning and pounding the zone, which allowed them to get in and out of every inning without allowing a run.   

However, while UND was playing sharp defensively and Carr was pitching well, NDSU was doing the same, holding UND to no runs and four hits before the bottom of the sixth inning.   

One run was all it took for the Fighting Hawks. Like in the game before, it all happened in the sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth, with two outs and a 0-0 score, Haslett hit a single, and Dick came in as a pinch runner. With Dick and Tanya Hopfauf on second and first, Castaneda hit a single down the middle, and Dick was able to run home, scoring the lone run of the game.   

Once again, in the seventh, UND shut the door, and Carr struck out Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage to give UND their second one-run win of the day.   

Carr said that the final game-winning strikeout was the culmination of her efforts all season.   

“It was awesome. It felt really good,” she said. “It was something that I’ve been working on for a while and just everything went the right way.”   

Maeve Hushman is a Dakota Student Sports Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].