Final Stats

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Northern Illinois University softball team picked up wins over Saint Peter's and Bucknell Tuesday in Winter Haven, Florida, on the strength of its defense.

On a day when the Huskies' offense scored a combined five runs in two games, NIU's pitching staff of Jessica Sturm (Wichita, Kan./Goddard), Tara Thacker (Uniontown, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) and Keegan Hayes (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) combined to hold SPU and BU to one run apiece.

Game One: Huskies Take Down Peacocks, 3-1

Courtesy of dominant pitching and exceptional base running, NIU picked up a 3-1 win over Saint Peter's to open the day.

Jessica Sturm and Tara Thacker combined to hold the Peacocks to six hits and one walk, while NIU stole five bases in the victory.

Following a scoreless first inning, the Huskies put two on the board in the second. Sturm led off the inning with a single, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Emily Naegele (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest). The senior pitcher did the rest, stealing third and then scoring on a passed ball. Moments later with Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ind./New Castle) on third and two outs, Kali Kossakowski (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) pushed home the second run with a RBI single through the left side to make it a 2-0 NIU lead.

Meanwhile, Sturm's mastery in the circle kept the Peacocks' offense in neutral by allowing just two hits and stranding three runners over the first three frames. The Wichita, Kansas, native finished the game by allowing just six hits and one run over six innings before giving way to reliever Thacker in the seventh.

The senior's only hiccup came in the fourth inning. SPU opened the stanza with two singles and a hit batter to load the bases with no out. Sturm forced a pair of pop ups to get to two outs, but Candice Koch got the Peacocks on the board with a single. Yet, the Huskie hurler regrouped and forced a groundout to strand three and keep NIU in the lead.

The Huskies got that run back in the fifth. Caitlyn Warren (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a sac bunt by Bryanna Phelan (Coal City, Ill./Coal City). Two batters later, Sturm singled to bring in Warren.

With the game on the line in the bottom of the seventh, the Peacocks got a lead-off single from Francesca D'Amato, which resulted in Thacker taking Sturm's spot in the circle. Thacker quickly ended SPU's hopes of a rally with three-straight outs - including two strikeouts - to end the game and get the save.

Game Two: Hayes Shuts Down Bucknell in 2-1 NIU Victory

Three days removed from arguably her best pitching performance of the season, Keegan Hayes continued her sensational spring break performance in the Huskies' 2-1 win over Bucknell.

The freshman held the Bison to just five hits and one unearned run over seven innings. Meanwhile, the Huskies took advantage of BU's sloppy defense to pull out the win.

The Bison got on the board in the top of the first. After a quick two outs, Cydnee Sanders reached base on an error and Kristen Zahn walked to put two on. Meghan Kovac made NIU pay with a RBI single to bring in Sanders and put BU out to a 1-0 lead.

NIU quickly made up that deficit in the bottom of the first. With one on and two out, Jessica Sturm singled into the right field gap to score Bekah Harnish (Maple Park, Burlington Central) from first base. The Huskies nearly took the lead in the frame, but Sturm was tagged out at home following an Emily Naegele single.

One inning later, NIU moved into the lead. Alaynie Woollard led off with a single, then stole second and third. Kali Kossakowski got on base with a fielder's choice and stole second to put two runners in scoring position. Kaitlyn Barrett followed with a grounder to the second baseman, who mishandled the ball to allow Woollard to cross homeplate.

Conversely, Hayes made the Huskies' one-run lead stick by surrendering just four hits the rest of the day. BU's biggest threat came in the sixth when Sanders led off the inning with a single, only to be forced out at second on a fielder's choice by Zahn. Zahn, in turn, was picked off on a great throw from Naegele to Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana). Undeterred, Kovac kept the inning alive with a double, but a fly out ended the threat.

NIU heads to Orlando, Florida, tomorrow to take on #20 UCF in a doubleheader beginning at 9 a.m. CT