The UND softball team was swept in its home opener last weekend in a conference series matchup against Sacramento State. The Green and White lost a doubleheader to the Hornets on Friday and dropped the final game Saturday, 16-2.

The first game of the doubleheader started in favor of North Dakota on offense as its first two hits of the day were home runs. Freshman Shelby Hard hit her 12th home run this season while sophomore Jackie Lilek hit her third of the year.

As North Dakota has struggled to win games this year, Hard has seen plenty of success at the plate. Hard, who is hitting .330 on the season, leads UND in batting average, slugging percentage at .723, runs scored with 23 and 37 hits.

Despite home runs from Lilek and Hard, North Dakota wasn’t able to hang on to its one-run lead, and in the seventh inning, gave up five runs to Sacramento state, who went on to win 8-3.

Errors were a problem for North Dakota.

North Dakota committed five errors in the team’s second home game of the year, losing the second game of the day to Sacramento 12-0.  Sacramento pitcher Celina Matthias pitched a no-hitter and only allowed two North Dakota batters to reach first base.

Saturday’s game got off to a rough start for North Dakota as the hot bats of Sacramento State managed eight hits and eleven runs in the first inning. Jackie Lilek got North Dakota on the scoreboard with a two-run homer for her fourth of the season in the bottom of the third. Those would be the only runs UND would score on Saturday, resulting in a 16-2 loss.

North Dakota, now 8-32 on the season, hasn’t registered a win since Mar., 18.  he Green and White have struggled on the road this season and are still searching for their first conference win of the season.

For North Dakota, a common theme this year has been falling behind early and not being able to generate enough offensive to come back in games.

When trailing after the first inning, UND is 1-17, and, after the second, the team is 2-20. The current 14-game losing streak is the longest of the year for North Dakota.

The good news for North Dakota is that the month of April offers some time off from some recent long distance travelling.

North Dakota will go on the road for a doubleheader against South Dakota State this week, but will then return to Apollo Sports Complex for a 10-game homestand.

North Dakota will have a chance to earn its first conference win of the season when it hosts Portland State in the first series of the ten-home matchups.

Portland State currently is second to last in the Big Sky standings, one spot ahead of last place North Dakota.

North Dakota will travel to Brookings, S.D. on Tuesday for a doubleheader against South Dakota State before returning home for the remainder of April.

Ben Novak is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].