AUSTIN,  Texas – Lipscomb pitcher Megan Gray likes pitching against teams from North Dakota.

Sunday morning, she struck out a career high 17 North Dakota State hitters in a 7-1 win at McCombs Field to close out the Texas Invitational. Last year she struck out what was then her career high 13 in 7-0 no-hit effort against North Dakota in Mobile, Alabama.

Gray gave up five hits and did not walk a batter. The run was earned.

“Megan is a game changer,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “You can just feel the confidence coming out  of her. It was incredible to watch her.

“She has worked so hard to get here. Megan has taken over the No, 1 role. I am proud of what she has done. She is leading our team.”

In the sixth Gray gave up three consecutive singles and a run but bounced back to strike out the next three batters.

“North Dakota State is a regional caliber team,” Ryman said. “Megan attacked them right from the start.

“She got a lot of swings and misses. After the sixth I went to her and asked her if she wanted to finish the game. She didn’t hesitate to say she did. Then she went out there and turned it up another notch in the seventh.”

Gray’s teammates pounded out 10 hits including doubles from Amy Vetula, who finished with three hits; Jenna Endris who drove in three runs; and Presley Leebrick who drove in a run. No  Lipscomb batter struck out.

The Lady Bisons opened with one run. They added four in the third and one each in the fourth and fifth.

Paige Vargas, 3-5, took the loss for North Dakota State. In three innings she gave up five runs, four earned; four hits and one walk.

Kara O’Byrne finished the final four innings. She allowed two runs, one earned; six hits and two walks.

The win came on the heels of the 12-11 loss to No. 4 Texas Saturday night.

“We lost a frustrating game to Weber State (6-1) and then had to face the No. 4 team in the country for the second time in two days,” Ryman said. “I was proud of how resilient  we were in the Texas game.

“I told them to force Texas to make adjustments and we made them do that across the board. We were on the brink of handing them their first loss. It was one of the neatest games I have coached.”

The Lady Bisons were 2-3 for the weekend, but Ryman liked the growth of her team.

“This was a fun way to end the weekend,” Ryman said. “We gained a lot of confidence from the Texas game. As coaches we saw a lot of good things.”

Around the bases

• Gray’s five wins are all complete game efforts.
• Peyton Ward stole a base. She is eight-for-eight this season.
• Amy Vetula connected for three hits for the second game in a row. She recorded her sixth multiple-hit game, the team best.
• Jenna Endris drove in a season-high three runs, her second multiple-RBI game.
• Caitlin Turner with two hits has four multiple-hit games, second on the team. She drove in two runs giving her two multiple-RBI games.
• Presley Leebrick had two hits for the second time this season.

Up next

The Lady Bisons will make their home debut hosting the Purple and Gold Challenge at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium.

Lipscomb will face SIU-Edwardsville at 2:30 Friday.

Also playing in the three-day event are UMBC and Indiana State.