FARGO, N.D. ? North Dakota State's softball team scored in just two of the 15 innings it played against Southern Utah Saturday but those two innings were enough as the Bison held the Thunderbirds scoreless in a 1-0, 5-0 Summit League sweep.

The losses dropped SUU to 12-9 on the season in conference play (19-32 overall) but didn't drop them from the second seed in next week's conference tournament as third-seed IPFW finished its season 8-8 after top-seed Centenary finished off a three-game sweep of the Mastodons with a 9-3 win Saturday.

Kristina Brooks (17-22) struck out nine and threw a no-hitter through 8 2/3 innings of the first game but Alison Bakke (23-8) was just as sharp, striking out 13 and surrendering just two hits through nine complete innings. Brooks' only mistake came in the ninth inning, when Bison clean-up hitter Rachel Briones stroked a two-out shot to right-centerfield that bounced off the protective shield on top of the fence before going over for the walk-off home run.

The Bison kept the momentum going in the first inning of game two, jumping on Katie “Bubba” Kearns (1-6) for five runs in the bottom of the frame, with the big hit a three-run Melissa Chmielewski home run over the centerfield fence.

NDSU's Bekki Rasmussen (10-8) took over from there, tossing another two-hitter at the Thunderbirds and striking out 12 along the way. Kearns settled down after the first inning and held the Bison to just two hits until the fifth when Meghan Wilson came on in relief. Wilson gave up just one hit in two innings of work.

North Dakota State (37-17, 14-2 Summit) wrapped up the conference regular-season championship with the win, but since the Bison are still in their transitional phase from NCAA Division II to Division I competition they are not eligible for the Summit League tournament, which begins next Friday in Cedar City.

-- SUU --