MINOT, N.D. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead softball team lost a pair of games to Minot State on Tuesday, falling 5-1 and 5-4 in Minot, N.D.

MSUM fell to 8-17 overall and 2-6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while Minot State improved to 16-9 overall and 5-3 in the league.

In the opener, senior shortstop Taylor Roddie was 2-for-2 with an RBI while sophomore center fielder Elizabeth Johnson was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Junior third baseman Emma Dummer and freshman outfielder Shay Weber added hits for MSUM.

Sophomore Becky Berth pitched six innings and took the loss. She allowed five runs (four earned), striking out two and walking two.

The Dragons committed four errors in the loss.

Minot State scored three runs in the second to take a 3-0 lead and built a 5-0 advantage. In the fifth Johnson doubled and would score on Roddie's RBI single later in the inning.

In Game 2, Roddie was 3-for-4 with three RBI and a double while junior first baseman Payton Gaber was 2-for-3 with an RBI.  Dummer, senior designated hitter Lexie Kennedy, freshman second baseman Kaiya Sundeen and Weber also had hits.

Freshman Anna Lang started and went 3.1 innings, giving up three runs, two earned. Berth took the loss in relief, giving up two runs, one earned, in 2.2 innings.  The Dragons committed two errors in the field.

MSUM led 2-0 after the first, thanks to RBI singles from Roddie and Gaber. Minot scored the next three runs  to take a 3-2 lead, but Roddie added another RBI single in the fifth to score Gaber and tie the game at 3-3. Minot scored twice in the sixth to take a 5-3 lead.

Roddie added her third hit and RBI of the game in the seventh with a double, putting the tying run on second but a groundout ended the game.

MSUM will play at Bemidji State on Saturday for a doubleheader.