Tempe, Ariz. - The University of North Dakota softball team fell to third ranked Arizona State by a score of 15-7 Thursday evening at Farrington Stadium.

"It was not the win we were hoping for but it was a good fight to start a challenging weekend," head coach Eric Oakley said.

Arizona State began the game by scoring five runs in the first and didn't slow down from there.

The Sun Devils brought an eleven run lead into the fifth inning when UND began to rally. With two runs already scored in the fifth, junior D Jantzer (Grants Pass, Ore.) hit a bases loaded homerun with two outs to score senior Cami Bennett (Grants Pass, Ore.), freshmen Nicole Babrowski (Oak Lawn, Ill.) and Taylor Hansen (Chelsea, Mich.) to cut the lead to 11-7.

"The team played well all game," Oakley said. "We strung together some singles in the fifth which set the table for D Jantzer's monster shot."

Senior Kenna Olsen (Issaquah, Wash.) got UND on the board in the second inning with a solo home run.

"Kenna Olsen picked the right time to have our first home run of the season," Oakley said. "A great shot off of one of the best pitchers in the country."

The strong effort was not enough though as the Sun Devils added four more runs in the fifth inning to conclude the game.

UND fell to 2-5 on the season and Arizona State improved to an undefeated 17-0.

North Dakota will face Baylor and Arizona State tomorrow in Tempe, Arizona, to open play in the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational.