Final Stats

DEKALB, Ill. -- The Northern Illinois University softball team had a good Friday offensively as they split a doubleheader with Bowling Green.

The Huskies (16-14, 3-1 MAC) took a 5-3 victory in the first game against the Falcons (12-14, 3-1 MAC) before suffering a 10-5 defeat in the second contest.

Game One: Huskies Hold Off Falcons, 5-3

NIU started off strong, then held off Bowling Green in Game One with a 5-3 victory to move to 3-0 in the Mid-American Conference for the first time since 2003.

The Huskies got RBIs from Emily Naegele (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) and Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ind./New Castle), while the NIU defense held the Falcon bats in check for most of the game.

"Anytime you can start 3-0, you put yourself in a good spot," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. "I was super proud of our pitchers for not allowing their momentum swings and the umpires for getting to them in the sixth and seventh innings and being able to stay with it within themselves and pitch through it."

NIU got started right away on offense. Following a single from Bryanna Phelan (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) and a walk from Kali Kossakowski (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward), Naegele put the first runs on the board with a single up the middle for a 2-0 Huskie lead.

While the Huskies were unable to add to that lead in the next few innings, Keegan Hayes (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) silenced BGSU's offense. The freshman hurler allowed just three hits over the first five innings of the contest and surrendered just two walks over that stretch.

Meanwhile, the Huskies picked up a few insurance runs in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Allyson Hecht (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) led off the frame with a triple, then scored moments later on an error in the infield to make a 3-0 contest.

In the next stanza, a Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana) walk and a Bekah Harnish (Maple Park, Ill./Burlington Central) single put runners on first and second with one out. Pinchrunner Ashley Evans (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) took advantage of some more sloppy play in the infield by taking home on an error. Two batters later, Woollard drove home two runs with a two-out hit down the rightfield line, pushing the Huskie edge to 5-0.

Yet, BGSU pieced together a late rally to make things interesting in the sixth. A walk and a double set the Falcons up with runners on second and third with none out. That's when Morgan Evangelista doubled to left-center to plate Haley Schrock and Chloe Giordano, while chasing Hayes from the circle. A few batters later, Aspen Searle's sacrifice fly brought another run home and made it a 5-3 game.

The Huskies, though, turned away the Falcons' comeback. With runners on the corners, the NIU defense picked up a much-needed double play when Harnish fielded a grounder, tagged third and fired to Grable at first for the twin killing. With the tying run at-bat, Jessica Sturm (Wichita, Kan./Goddard) forced one final popout for the save and the NIU win.

Game Two: Late Rally Sinks NIU, 10-5

A big sixth inning from Bowling Green proved to be the difference in game two, as the Huskies were dealt a 10-5 defeat by the Falcons.

BGSU turned the tables on NIU by putting up nine runs in the top of the sixth and finished the contest with 14 hits.

"Jess did a great job getting out of a jam in almost every inning," Sutcliffe said. "Our defense just didn't make any number of plays in that sixth inning to help them out. That's kind of what conference is all about, being able to control the momentum and being able to get out of an inning when you need to."

NIU's defense was the name of the game early, as the Huskies got out of a few jams early. In the top of the first, BGSU loaded the bases with one out. However, Jessica Sturm fought through the adversity with a strikeout and a flyout to end the threat.

Two innings later, the Falcons led off the frame a double and got a runner to third with one out. Again, Sturm and the NIU defense kept BGSU off the board with a pair of groundouts to end the threat.

With the game still scoreless, NIU's offense came alive in the third. Allyson Hecht led off with a single, then Kali Kossakowski brought Hecht home with a sharp double down the left field line for a 1-0 Huskie lead. Later in the stanza with runners on second and third, Emily Naegele lined a hit up the middle to bring in Kossakowski and Kayti Grable to push the NIU advantage to 3-0.

The defense shined again in the fourth for the Huskies. With a runner on first, Chloe Giordano doubled into right field, but a quick relay from Hecht to Kossakowski to Naegele got Haley Schrock out at home and kept the three-run edge intact.

NIU got out of another bases-loaded jam in the fifth when Sturm struck out Schrock looking to end the inning. However, BGSU finally got to the Huskies in the sixth with nine runs. Six different Falcons notched RBIs in the frame -- including a three-run home run from Giordano -- as the visitors batted around and went through three Huskie pitchers. The Falcons added one more run in the seventh when Aspen Searle led off with a solo home run.

Yet, the Huskies didn't give up that easily. Facing a seven-run deficit, Kossakowski got a two-out single to keep the inning alive. Grable then got Kossakowski home with a hard-hit double off the top of the wall. Naegele added to the scoring with a single of her own to plate Grable, but it was too little, too late for NIU.

The Huskies' homestand continues tomorrow when they open a two-game set with MAC West rival Toledo. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.