RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside dug deep twice on Saturday afternoon for a pair of quality wins over North Dakota State, winning 3-2 in eight innings before Max Ortega walked off the second game for a 9-7 victory. 

The Highlanders battled in quality at-bats on multiple occasions to pick up a morale-boosting sweep. 

"We stuck with our plan on offense and just made sure we were taking care of the ball. Our culture came out in a big way. We stayed together and we just never quit collectively."

Saturday's first game was a pitcher's duel through the first few innings until a North Dakota State miscue in the fourth put runners on the corners for the Highlanders, but UCR was unable to capitalize as the Bison kept the game scoreless.

Ortega and Haylee Kela each went 2 for 4 in game one with Ortega driving in two runs, and Chrys Hildebrand retired nine of her first 10 Bison batters. 

The Columbia transfer worked a full count into an RBI single before Lauryn Garewal walked in the game-winning run. 

UCR battled from behind in game two, going down 2-0 early before putting up four runs in the third inning on three RBI doubles. Ortega, Kela, Jantzen Owen and Leah Brito all picked up multi-hit performances in game two. 

Brito led off the seventh with a single up the middle on the first pitch of the inning before Marissa Burk worked herself on base with a walk and Ortega smashed her first home run as a Highlander to give UCR the win. 

The Highlanders close out the Amy S. Harrison Classic on Sunday with a single game against Sacred Heart at 12:00 p.m.