Final Stats

DEKALB, Ill. -- Behind some hot hitting and a few errors, the Northern Illinois University softball team made quick work of Toledo Sunday with a 14-5 win in five innings.

The Huskies (18-14, 5-1 MAC) picked up 12 hits against the Rockets (12-22, 0-6 MAC) and hits multiple home runs for the second-straight game. NIU also scored the most runs in a game since March 23, 2014, when they earned a 15-6 win over Iowa State.

"Our offense is really rolling," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. "To be able to come back with that offense after the first inning that we had, it has a tendency to put you on your heels. We just went after them, attacked them, capitalized on some of their mistakes and from there it was all guns going."

Toledo, though, drew first blood in the top of the first. Following a Jessica Lemieux double to start, Chandler Rice hit a single into the gap to bring in the first run. Following a walk, Samantha Showalter hit a three-run home run to give the Rockets an early 4-0 lead.

Nonetheless, the Huskies summarily answered in the bottom half of the opening stanza. After Bryanna Phelan (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) and Kali Kossakowski (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) reached base, Emily Naegele (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) knocked a sharp liner into right field to score Phelan.

Bekah Harnish's (Maple Park, Ill./Burlington Central) popout put two outs on the board, but an error by Toledo allowed Kossakowski to race home and make it a two-run game. Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ind./New Castle) kept it going by reaching base on an error and plating Naegele in the process. Jessica Sturm (Wichita, Kan./Goddard) knotted it up with a double to right-center to brought home Woollard.

The runs kept coming for the Huskies in the second. With two on and one out, Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana) lined a single up the middle to bring home Caitlyn Warren (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North). A walk to Naegele loaded the bases for Harnish, who answered with a double off the wall in deep centerfield to clear the bases and make it an 8-4 NIU lead.

NIU blew things wide open in the fourth with one swing from Naegele. After two quick outs, Phelan, Kossakowski and Grable all reached base to keep the inning alive. Meanwhile, the junior from Oak Forest, Illinois, made Toledo pay, lofting a flyball down the leftfield line that just cleared the fence and stayed fair for a grand slam -- the first by a Huskie since Ashley Kopp on March 29, 2013 -- to extend the Huskie advantage to 12-4.

Yet, Toledo got one back in the fourth. With the bases loaded and two out, Chandler Rice brought in a run on a fielder's choice when the flip to second base came a second too late for the Huskies.

Once again, the Huskies had an answer. Following a Sturm single, Warren crushed the ball over the fence in deep centerfield for her first home run of the season and a 14-5 NIU lead. Sturm followed by shutting down the Rockets in the fifth to seal the victory.

NIU ends its homestand Wednesday, April 8, when they host regional rival Loyola in a doubleheader. Game one between the Huskies and Ramblers is set for 3 p.m. at Mary M. Bell Field.