Host Long Beach State Edges North Dakota State 5-4

LAKEWOOD. Calif.--Darian Tautalafua's two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning lifted host Long Beach State to a 5-4 win over North Dakota State in the final game Sunday, March 10, of the Long Beach State Invitational.

North Dakota State (10-11) is scheduled to play 9th/11th-ranked UCLA on Tuesday, March 12, in Los Angeles. NDSU had a six-game winning snapped with the loss, but finished with a 3-1 record at the tournament.

The Bison led 2-0 after three innings and 4-3 in the top of the sixth frame after Jenna Isbel's two-run single. Jenina Ortega also collected an RBI for NDSU, which also took advantage of three Long Beach State errors.

Tautalafua finished 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs for the 49ers (14-8), who also received home runs from Nalani St. Germain and Hannah De Gaetano.

Erin Jones-Wesley and Amanda Hansen (3-1) pitched for Long Beach State with Hansen picking up the win. Jones-Wesley struck out seven and walked four. Hansen allowed just one hit over the final 1-2/3 innings.

Whitney Johnson and Krista Menke pitched for North Dakota State with Menke recording the loss. Johnson struck out six and walked three over the first five innings.