Final Stats

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Northern Illinois University softball team split its Saturday twinbill, defeating Sam Houston State before losing to Pittsburgh.
 
The Huskies (1-3) knocked four home runs against the Bearkats (0-4) for NIU’s first win of the year, but saw its offense silenced later against the Panthers (4-0).
 
Game One: Huskies Clobber Four Homers, Defeat SHSU, 8-7
 
NIU continued its power surge in the first half of Saturday’s doubleheader, belting four home runs en route to an 8-7 win over Sam Houston State.
 
Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana), Emily Naegele (Oak Forest, Ill./Radford Univ.) and Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ind./New Castle) each went over the fences for the second-straight game, while Rebecca Rupard (Normal, Ill./Normal West) joined the long ball party with her first roundtripper of the year.
 
“The wind was blowing out, so there were just a lot of home runs all day on the field,” said NIU Head Coach Christina Sutcliffe. “Our hitters all day did a really nice job of sticking to their plan at the plate, getting a good pitch to swing at and we had a ton of baserunners all day long.”
 
SHSU got on the board first in the bottom of the first. After NIU executed a 5-3 double play, Sarah Allison singled into left center to score Dani Allen from second and put the Bearkats out to a 1-0 lead.
 
Yet, the Huskies countered in the second inning with Woollard’s home run – her second in as many days. Following a pair of quick groundouts for the first two outs, the freshman from New Castle, Indiana, took a 0-1 pitch and lifted it over the left center fence to knot the contest at 1-1.
 
NIU kept the offense coming in the third. Singles from Rupard and Bryanna Phelan (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) coupled with a sacrifice bunt from Kali Kossakowski (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) and a fielder’s choice by Bekah Harnish (Maple Park, Ill./Burlington Central) set NIU up with runners on first and second with two outs. Grable proceeded to break the tie with one swing, lining a hit down the left field line for a three-run home run and a 4-1 lead.
 
The Bearkats got two runs back in the bottom half of the third when Allison knocked in a pair of runs on a two-out double, putting SHSU within 4-3. However, the Huskies succinctly countered when Rupard repeated Grable’s feat and knocked a two-run home run to the left field foul pole. Moments later, NIU pushed its lead to 7-3 when Harnish pushed another run across the plate with a sac fly. The Huskie hit parade continued in the fifth, as Naegele opened the frame with a solo shot to left center for an 8-3 NIU advantage.
 
SHSU, though, didn’t go away quietly. Following Allison’s leadoff solo shot to start the sixth, the Bearkats put together a big rally in the seventh despite the Huskies getting two quick outs. Dani Allen started it with a single, while Peyton Webb drew a walk before Allison hit a three-run home run to trim the lead to 8-7. Angelica Gonzales doubled in the ensuing at-bat to put the tying run in scoring position, but Tiffany Castillo popped out to end the threat and clinch the win.
 
“We had somebody ready to go, probably one hit away from going that route,” Sutcliffe said. “We trust our pitchers to get out of jams and it’s early, so we need to see if they can or cannot do it and go with our gut at that point.”
 
Game Two: NIU Falls Short to Pittsburgh, 2-0
 
After an offensive explosion in the first game, the Huskie bats went silent in the second half of the doubleheader, as Pittsburgh claimed a 4-0 victory.
 
Freshman Keegan Hayes (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) kept the Panther offense in check by scattering seven hits and a run over 4.1 innings, but the Huskies’ offense could only get eight hits against Pitt’s Savannah King.
 
“Keegs is doing a really good job for us,” Sutcliffe said. “Even yesterday, she pitched a better game than I think the scoreboard showed. The more they are in that situation, the better they are going to pitch. Tara came in and did what we needed to do and shut down that inning and give us another zero the other inning. All three of them truly did a good effort.”
 
NIU opened the game with a golden opportunity to stake an early lead. After Bekah Harnish doubled and Kayti Grable walked, Emily Naegele loaded the bases with a single. Unfortunately, the Huskies couldn’t capitalize, as a strikeout and a groundout kept NIU off the board. Two innings later, Grable, Naegele and Alaynie Woollard all reached to juice the bases again, only for a strikeout to end the threat.
 
“We just couldn’t get the key hit,” Sutcliffe said. “They were able to capitalize and score some runners in scoring position. We just left them all stranded.”
 
However, Hayes neutralized the Panthers’ offense multiple times. With runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the first, the freshman forced Jenna Modic into a fielder’s choice with an out at home plate, then got Carly Thea to fly out to end the threat. After allowing runners on second and third with no outs in the second, Hayes nailed Jordan Fannin with a pickoff at third and ended the frame with a foul out and a ground out.
 
Pitt, though, finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth. Following back-to-back singles and a sac bunt, Hayes walked Shelby Pickett to load the bases with two outs. That’s when Kaitlin Manuel was hit by a pitch, forcing in a run for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Panthers added to their lead in the sixth. Starting with a leadoff double by Kathryn Duran, Pitt got their second run of the game with an RBI single from Manuel, then made it a 3-0 contest with a Maggie Sevilla RBI. Modic capped the three-run frame with a groundout.
 
In the seventh, NIU put together a late rally after going down to its final out early. Harnish started the comeback attempt by reaching base on an error, while Grable and Naegele both reached on singles to load the bases. However, Caitlyn Warren grounded out to end the threat.
 
NIU wraps up its stay in the Lone Star State tomorrow when they take on Texas State at 11 a.m. in the tournament finale.