North Dakota State took two games from top-seeded IUPUI to win its eighth Summit League Softball Championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The number two-seeded Bison (27-31) trounced the Jaguars from IUPUI in the first game this past Saturday, 13-4, forcing a winner-take-all game later that day. NDSU would come behind from an early 3-run deficit in the second game to beat the Jaguars, 5-3, and win the conference tournament championship.

In the first game, the Bison got 4 RBIs apiece from Bre Beatty and Zoe Stavrou, while KK Leddy tossed 6 1/3 innings, allowing just 3 earned runs on 9 hits while striking out 5.

The second game saw IUPUI take an early 3-0 lead in the 1st inning, but NDSU crept back in it with 2 runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning on RBI singles from Dani Renner and Stavrou. The Bison tied it in the in the 4th when Julia Luciano scored on a throwing error after a single by Madyson Camacho. Then, in the bottom of the 5th, Montana DeCamp came through with the go-ahead run scoring single. Tabby Heinz added an insurance run with a sac-fly RBI to make it 5-3. Jacquelyn Sertic threw all 7 innings for the complete game, allowing 3 runs on just 5 hits, and striking out 7.

NDSU learned Sunday night that they'll take on defending national champion Oklahoma in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon. The Sooners were this year's Big 12 champions. Tulsa and Arkansas are the other two teams in the regional.

 

More From Super Talk 1270