Tawa's 2 HRs help Stanford beat N. Dakota St. in regional

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Tim Tawa hit two home runs, Alex Williams allowed one run and three hits with nine strikeouts over seven innings and Stanford beat North Dakota State 9-1 on Friday in the opening game of the double-elimination Stanford Regional.

Tawa was 3 for 4 with four RBIs and three runs and was one of nine Stanford (34-14) players with at least one hit.

Tawa led off the fourth inning with a tie-breaking solo shot and, after Brock Jones reached on an error, Kody Huff hit a two-run homer to left field to make it 4-1. Adam Crampton and Eddie Park hit back-to-back singles before Tawa homered to give the Cardinal an 8-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh.

Jack Simonsen went 2 for 3 and Bennett Hostetler hit a solo home run for North Dakota State (41-18).

Stanford's Tommy Troy hit a

The Bison are making the second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and their first since 2014.

It was the first-ever meeting between the teams.

____

More NCAA baseball tournament coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-world-series