SEATTLE — The University of Minnesota softball team opened NCAA Region Tournament play with a 7-2 victory over North Dakota State University on Friday.
The 19th-ranked ranked Gophers (42-12) snapped a 1-1 tie with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and added four more in the fifth to break the game open.
Paige Palkovich was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for the Gophers. Danielle Parlich also had two hits for the Gophers. Maddie Houlihan was 1-for-2 with an RBI while Taylor LeMay, Sydney Dwyer and Rochester's Sam Macken were all 1-for-3 with an RBI. Macken, a Lourdes grad, was also hit by a pitch.
Sara Groenewegen (31-5) pitched the first five innings and allowed one run on three hits to collect the win for Minnesota.
Hayfield's Dani Wagner got into the game as a defensive replacement at shortstop for the Gophers.
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Zoe Stavrou hit a pair of solo homers for both of North Dakota State's runs. Freshman Vanessa Anderson of Byron is a freshman reserve for NDSU (38-14), but she did not appear in the game.
