Final Stats

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Northern Illinois University softball team added to its record-breaking season and gained ground in the conference race Friday with a doubleheader split at Buffalo.
                                                                                               
Sophomore Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana) set the new single-season school record with her 12th home run of the season for the Huskies (28-21, 11-7 MAC) in a game one win over the Bulls (12-37, 4-15 MAC). Additionally, NIU moved up to fifth in the conference standings by passing Western Michigan.
 
"With us breaking several records this year, it's kind of attributed to their hard work and it has paid off on the field," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe.
 
Game One: Grable's Record-Setter Highlights 7-0 Huskie Win
 
NIU opened the day in a big way both offensively and defensively, as it rolled to a 7-0 victory over UB.
 
Kayti Grable's record-setting home run in the second capped a four-run second inning, while a dominant complete-game effort from Keegan Hayes (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) kept the Bulls off the board.
 
"We were able to get some key hits in that one inning," Sutcliffe said. "Obviously, the home run helped. Later on in the game, we were able to get on the second pitcher they put in and had some good at-bats."
 
After coming up empty on a bases-loaded opportunity in the first, the Huskies got four runs on the board in the second inning. Caitlyn Warren (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) started things with a two-out triple off the wall in right-center, while Bryanna Phelan's (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) single and subsequent steal put two runners in scoring position. Kali Kossakowski (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) brought both home with a single up the middle. Moments later, Grable got a hold of a pitch from UB's Bobbi Langlois and sent it over the wall in left field to push the Huskie lead to 4-0.
 
Conversely, Hayes was doing a number on the Bulls' lineup. Following a lead-off walk to Alexis Curtiss, the freshman did not allow a hit until the third inning and only allowed multiple baserunners in the second inning, both of whom reached base on errors.
 
"Keegan did a nice job of, once runners got on, she could make the pitch to get out of the inning," Sutcliffe said. "Kali had a great game at short again."
 
Meanwhile, the Huskies added some insurance runs on the board in the later innings to put the game out of reach. In the sixth, a Kossakowski single, a Grable walk and an Emily Naegele (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) fielder's choice loaded the bases. Bekah Harnish (Maple Park, Ill./Burlington Central) converted for NIU, lacing a double into left-center to score two runs and make it a 6-0 contest.
 
NIU added the final touches to the victory in the seventh. With Haley Wroten (Belleville, Ill./Belleville East) on second, Tara Thacker (Uniontown, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) stepped to the plate and doubled to left field, scoring Wroten for the final run of the game.
 
Game Two: NIU Falls in Eight Innings, 5-4
 
The Huskies raced out to an early lead in game two, but Buffalo rallied to tie the game in the fifth and won on a walk-off in the eighth, 5-4.
 
NIU got four runs in the first inning on RBIs from Kayti Grable, Emily Naegele and Jessica Sturm (Wichita, Kan./Goddard). However, two runs each by the Bulls in the first and fifth innings sent the game to extras, where UB's Hayley Barrow won it on a solo home run.
 
"I don't think (Langlois) did anything different," Sutcliffe said. "I think we did a bad job at the plate. We were swinging at pitches we shouldn't have been swinging at and going up to the box without a plan."
 
Much like the first game, the Huskies got on the board quickly with four runs in the first inning. Bryanna Phelan and Kali Kossakowski both reached on errors to get in scoring position for Kayti Grable, whose sacrifice fly plated Phelan and moved Kossakowski to third. Emily Naegele followed that with a single to score Kossakowski. Three batters later, Sturm doubled home a pair of runs for a 4-0 NIU advantage.
 
UB, though, had an answer in the bottom half of the frame. Following two quick outs, the Bull offense got going on a Barrow single and a Makayla Kowaliuk walk. That allowed Danielle Lallos to cut NIU's lead in half with a two-RBI double, making it a 4-2 contest.
 
After an eventful first inning, Sturm and UB pitcher Bobbi Langlois settled down, exchanging scoreless frames in the second, third and fourth. However, the Bulls managed to tie the game back up in the fifth. Leandra Jew led off with an infield single, while Alexis Curtiss hit a two-run home run to center field for a 4-4 contest. Sturm was summarily replaced by Tara Thacker, who got out of the fifth without any further damage and sat the UB lineup down in order in the sixth and seventh innings.
 
The Huskies had a shot to take the lead in the seventh, as Kossakowski singled and Grable walked to put two on with one out, only to come up empty to force extra innings. After NIU went down in order in the top of the eighth, Barrow ended the game with a walk-off solo homer to lead off the bottom of the inning.
 
The Huskies head back to Ohio Saturday for the start of a two-game set with the Kent State Golden Flashes. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CT.