Johnson's No-Hitter Leads Bison to Doubleheader Sweep of UMKC

FARGO, N.D. - Whitney Johnson pitched her first career no-hitter to lead the North Dakota State softball team to a doubleheader sweep of UMKC on Saturday, April 21. The Bison won game one, 7-5, and game two, 4-0, to improve to 30-16 overall and 14-3 in The Summit League.

Johnson's no-hitter was the second of the season for NDSU as Krista Menke no-hit Liberty on March 10, 1-0. It was the 22nd no-hitter in NDSU history.

In game one, the Bison took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after a Cristina Borek single scored Katie Tamayo. UMKC went up 2-1 in the second inning. NDSU retook the lead in the third on a Taylor Mortensen RBI single and a Borek RBI double.

The Bison broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning as Tamayo belted a three-run homer off the top of the fence. It was her fourth home run of the season. Borek then recorded her third RBI of the day, scoring Amanda Grable on a single to center field.

UMKC attempted a comeback, scoring two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to cut NDSU's lead to 7-5, but the Bison defense held strong.

Krista Menke earned her 20th win of the year for the Bison and tallied five strikeouts to improve to 20-8. Deanna Friese took the loss for UMKC and fell to 9-13.

In game two, the Bison rode Johnson's outstanding pitching effort to a 4-0 victory. Johnson recorded 10 strikeouts and only allowed two base runners on an error and a walk.

NDSU took a 1-0 lead after a Mortensen sacrifice fly scored Tamayo. The Bison put the game away with a three-run sixth. Grable got the hitting started with a double to left field. Mortensen reached on a single to center field. Brea Konz then ripped her first hit of the day up the left field line to score both Grable and Mortensen. Pinch runner Presley Glaser scored the team's final run off an Alex Sobrero single.

The Bison outhit the Kangaroos, 8-0, in the second game and 21-9 in the doubleheader. Cinda Ramos took the loss for the ‘Roos to fall to 8-11 on the year. With today's no-no, Johnson improved to 10-8 this season.

The Bison host UMKC in game three of the series Sunday, April 22 at 12 p.m. at the Ellig Sports Complex.