On Friday, the Auburn softball team fell to North Dakota State 5-2 in the first game of the Minneapolis Regional.
In the top of the sixth inning, NDSU's Amanda Grable hit a three-run home run off of Auburn sophomore Lexi Davis to put the Bison up 5-2, a lead they would not relinquish.
Davis (20-11) gave up two home runs on the day, while Krista Menke (29-7) held Auburn's high-powered offense to only 4 hits.
The Tigers started the game with the lead after a first inning RBI by freshman Kasey Cooper.
By the third inning, the Bison got on the board with a Logan Moreland RBI single, tying the score at one apiece.
Auburn junior Morgan Estell responded in the fourth inning, hitting a solo homerun over the centerfield wall to put the Tigers up 2-1.
But NDSU answered quickly, as they tied the game 2-2 with a home run by Maritza Lopez-Portillo in the top of the fifth inning.
Auburn's chance to retake the lead was lost in the bottom of the fifth, when a one-out, bases loaded situation resulted in no runs scored.
Grable's three-run shot came in the next half-inning, and the Tigers were unable to come back.
The Tigers play tomorrow at 4 p.m. against the loser of the Minnesota/Green Bay game, and will need to win the next two games to advance to the Super Regionals.
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