Final Stats

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Northern Illinois University softball team rallied once Saturday at Western Michigan, but couldn't repeat the feat in an 8-5 loss.
 
The Huskies (19-16, 5-2 MAC) came back from a four-run deficit to tie the game against the Broncos (13-17, 5-2 MAC), but four runs by WMU in the fifth proved to be the difference.
 
"I honestly don't think any of our three stages of the game showed up today," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. "We didn't hit it well, we didn't pitch it well and we couldn't make a play to get off the field."
 
The Broncos got started early with two runs in the bottom of the first. Ivy Schaaf led off with a triple into right-center to put WMU in business. Following a groundout, Jenny Rohn knocked a home run over the wall in right-center for a 2-0 Bronco lead.
 
The hosts added to their lead in the next frame when Marlee Wilson and Sabrina Gamboa hit back-to-back solo homers, pushing the WMU lead to 4-0 and chasing Jessica Sturm (Wichita, Kan./Goddard) from the circle. Sturm's replacement, Keegan Hayes (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central), prevented further damage by striking out Kelsea Cichocki to get out of a bases-loaded jam.
 
NIU, though, bounced back in the top of the fourth. Kali Kossakowski (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) sparked the offense with a double, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana) drew a walk, Emily Naegele (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) put the first Huskie run on the board with an RBI single that scored Kossakowski.
 
Bekah Harnish's (Maple Park, Ill./Burlington Central) single loaded the bases, as a wild pitch moments later allowed Grable to race home and make it a 4-2 game. The Huskies brought the game to a 4-4 tie when Allyson Hecht (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) hit a sharp groundball through the left side of the infield, allowing Naegele and Harnish to come home.
 
"I think they just became patient for an inning in the box," Sutcliffe said on the fourth inning. "They didn't try to do too much and put the ball in play and got things going."
 
That deadlock was broken by WMU with a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth. Things started when Erin Binkowski reached base on an error, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Wilson brought the runner home with a single down right rightfield line. A Gamboa single then set the table for Schaaf, who capped the scoring with a three-run homer into the left power alley to make it an 8-4 NIU deficit.
 
Yet, the Huskies were unable to replicate its output in the fourth. Caitlyn Warren (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) trimmed the margin to three with a solo dinger in the seventh, but that's all NIU could get in the final two innings.
 
"We need to figure out how to pitch to their hitters," Sutcliffe said. "They're hot right now. We knew we were going to be in a slugfest, but when you are in those games, you have to be able to push the defense."
 
NIU meets WMU again tomorrow with a noon CT first pitch at Fran Ebert Field.