April 11, 2010

Box Score

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ATHENS, Ohio - The Northern Illinois University softball team's comeback effort came up short as the Huskies fell to Ohio, 6-5, at the Ohio Softball Field Sunday afternoon.

"We just didn't find a way to defend and pitch well early in the game," NIU head coach Lindsay Chouinard said. "

A six-run second by the Bobcats (9-22, 4-2) proved to be the difference in the game as Ohio pounded out six hits in the inning. The big blow in the inning came on a three-run homer by Paige Kemizis. With the score tied, 3-3, Kemizis sent the Monica Segura (Santa Ana, Calif./Segerstrom Fundamental) pitch to left center field to give the Bobcats the 6-3 lead.

Trailing 6-3 in the top of the sixth, Northern Illinois (15-22, 5-3) mounted its comeback attempt. Zoe Sinner (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) singled to left field to drive in Kate Welsh (Wilmington, Ill./Bishop McNamara) from third base. A lead-off homer to center field by Andrea Colosimo (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) in the top of the seventh pulled the Huskies to within a run. However, that would be as close as NIU would get and the Bobcats came away with the victory.

The Huskies took the lead early in the contest with a run in the first and a two-out, tow-run single by Amanda Sheppard (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest), who continues to swing a hot bat, to give NIU a 3-0 advantage heading into the bottom of the second.

While the Huskies went 3-1 on the four-game trip, Chouinard feels every game in the competitive Mid-American Conference is important.

"Everybody knows the MAC is going to be tough this year," Chouinard said. "The conference is going to come down to one or two games here and there. When you lose games you have the ability to win, the success of this weekend doesn't make up for the fact we could have won this game today."

The Huskies return to action Wednesday when NIU welcomes UIC to Mary M. Bell Field at 5 p.m. Fans can follow all the action live via Gametracker at NIUHuskies.com.

-NIU-