ABERDEEN, S.D.-- Kassi Ward (JR/Olympia, Wash.)'s three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth lifted the University of Jamestown softball team to a 10-7 victory over No. 10 Valley City State (N.D.) University Friday morning at the Presentation College Dome.

Morgan Geiszler (JR/Horace, N.D.) began the inning at second base due to the international tiebreaker rule. She advanced to third on Katie Reisdorfer (JR/Fresno, Calif.)'s bunt, and Reisdorfer moved to second on the throw. After Courtney Espinoza (SR/Avondale, Ariz.) was called out due to an illegally batted ball, Ward drove the first pitch she saw from Amber Stewart (1-2) over the left-field fence for the victory.

There were plenty of runs scored early on, as the Vikings plated three in the top of the first, only to have the Jimmies come back with four in the bottom half. Reisdorfer drove two in with a double, Ward brought another run in with a double, and Santina Zito (SO/Boise, Idaho) singled home the fourth run of the inning.

VCSU tied the game with a single run in the second, then UJ scored twice in the bottom of the third. Zito's two-run single made it 6-4 in favor of the Jimmies.

Single runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings brought the Vikings level at 6, and the score remained tied until the top of the eighth. Each team scored in their half of the inning to make it a 7-7 game entering the ninth.

Ward finished 4-for-5 with four RBI and scored three runs. Zito, Reisdorfer, and Mikayla Frost (SR/Melba, Idaho) all had two hits.

Samm Hamilton (SR/Boise, Idaho) (1-0), the fourth Jimmie pitcher of the game, got the win. She tossed two innings and gave up one hit.

The Jamestown offense scored in double digits against Mayville State in Friday's second game, defeating the Comets 12-7.

UJ trailed 2-0 entering the top of the third, but six pitches into the inning, took a 4-2 lead after run-scoring hits by Frost and Mariah Martinez (SO/Visalia, Calif.), and a two-run homer by Geiszler. Steph Cota (SO/Tucson, Ariz.) singled in another run while a Mariah Wick (JR/Jamestown, N.D.) double scored a pair. Frost's sacrifice fly brought in the eighth run of the inning and the Jimmies led 8-2.

Reisdorfer hit a two-run blast in the fourth to extend the lead to 10-2 and it appeared Jamestown had the game in hand.

Mayville State scored one in the bottom of the fifth, then pushed home four more in the bottom of the sixth to make it 10-7.

Zito and Hailey Sandoval (SR/Lake Stevens, Wash.) each hit solo home runs in the top of the seventh to give UJ a five-run lead.

Katie Merchant (SO/South Haven, Minn.) (3-0) pitched 4 1/3 innings of relief for the win. She gave up one run on three hits, walked four and struck out five.

Five Jimmies (Geiszler, Reisdorfer, Zito, Martinez, and Wick) had multiple hits.

Jamestown, now 5-1 this season, plays twice more on Saturday--against Dickinson State at 2 p.m. and Dakota State at 4 p.m.