NDSU Baseball Holds Off Northern Colorado in Series Opener

GREELEY, Colo. – Sophomore catcher Noah Gordon delivered a two-run triple in the ninth inning to help push the North Dakota State baseball team past Northern Colorado, 8-7, on Friday afternoon at Jackson Field.

The Bison (5-15, 3-1 Summit) started fast with four runs on four hits in the opening inning. Dante Smith scored an unearned run on a throwing error before Gordon and Alex Urlaub extended the lead to 4-0 with a pair of RBI singles. Tony Castonguay put the Bears (7-14, 2-2 Summit) on the board with an RBI double in the third inning to cut the lead to 4-1.

Colten Becker answered for the Bison pushing the advantage to 5-1 after he lifted an RBI sacrifice fly to deep center field in the fourth frame. Northern Colorado then plated three runs over the next two frames to cut the edge down to one, 5-4, with an RBI single off the bat of Carter Monda. After Davis Hamilton delivered an RBI single in the seventh, the Bears tied the contest, 6-6, in the bottom half with a two-run single from AJ Carter.

Gordon responded in the ninth with a clutch two-run triple into right center to clear the bases and regain the lead, 8-6. The Bears made one final surge scoring on an RBI single from Craig Kenny, but Danny Lachenmayer held off two base runners to secure the 8-7 victory.

The Bison totaled a season-high 15 hits as team with five different players logging multiple hits. It marked the most hits in a game for NDSU since recording 18 against Northern Colorado on May 18, 2024. Hamilton led the way going 3-of-4 at the plate with two runs and one RBI.

The Bison pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts with Nolan Johnson making the start on the hill with three strikeouts over 5.0 innings. Landon Koenig contributed three strikeouts over 2.0 frames in relief and Danny Lachenmayer (1-2) earned his first career win with four strikeouts over 2.0 innings.

NDSU will continue its series at Northern Colorado tomorrow. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. CT