April 10, 2011

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

KENT, Ohio. - The Northern Illinois University softball team suffered an 8-7 setback at the hands of Kent State in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Kent Field.

The Huskies (16-17, 6-2), who were leading 7-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh, allowed five Kent State (16-19, 6-2) runs to give the homestanding Golden Flashes the victory.

"We just didn't finish," NIU head coach Lindsay Chouinard said. "Championship teams finish that game, defensively and from the mound. We just didn't finish today."

NIU was in command much of the contest, taking a 2-0 lead with two runs in the top of the first. The Huskies' big inning came in the fourth when they plated four runs on an RBI single by Carly Norton (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest), an RBI double from Shelby Miller (Ottawa, Kan./Ottawa), a sacrifice fly by Zoe Sinner (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) and a run scoring single from Dani Parrish (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield).

A two-run double by Shannon Laughlin began the seventh inning rally for Kent State and cut the NIU lead to 7-5. Jessica Blanton drove in three runs on a bases clearing doubled to complete the comeback.

Today's game capped a 3-1 weekend for the Huskies as NIU swept Buffalo on Friday and beat Kent State yesterday. While Chouinard is happy with the road trip, she feels today's game shows there is still room for growth with her young squad.

"If we're 3-1 every weekend, we're going to be sitting pretty big. However, these kinds of games are the difference between winning a MAC Championship and if you don't."

Freshman Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln) continued her school-record hitting streak, extending it to 23 with a 2-for-3 day and an RBI.

Northern Illinois is back in action Wednesday when the Huskies return home to face UIC at Mary M. Bell Field. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.

-NIU-