Final Stats

Elon-NIU Box Score 

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Northern Illinois University softball team held on for a 13-9 victory over Elon in a slugfest in its first game of the Blue/Gold Challenge hosted by UNC Greensboro Thursday.

Thursday’s contest with the Phoenix was a tale of two games. NIU raced out to a 6-0 lead through the first inning, however, Elon stormed back in the later innings and made the contest a real battle.

“Anytime you can put a run up every single inning, your offense is doing what they need to do,” said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. “I don’t think our offense every stepped off the gas. I think our defense had a rough inning, a hiccup along the way, and gave Elon a little momentum and encouraged them that they could get back in the game.”

The Huskies (15-7) pounded out 14 hits, including three home runs, with Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana) and Emily Naegele (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) leading the way. Grable went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored, while Naegele was 2-for-2, with a pair of home runs, three walks, five RBIs and two runs scored.

“It was nice to see Grable, back in the lineup. She missed a few games due to injury,” Sutcliffe said. “It nice to see her come back and put the ball in play and put it in play hard and contribute to our offense.

Naegele’s just been consistent all the way around. She’s been putting up the power numbers. Teams, smartly, are starting to not pitch to her.”

Freshmen Abby Howlett (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) and Jenny Van Geertry (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) were also big contributors as well in the middle of the order. Van Geertry was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored and Howlett was 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. Her only hit of the day was her third home run of the season.

“They’re doing a really good job of covering Grable and Naegele,” Sutcliffe said of Howlett and Van Geertry. “Anytime you can have two freshmen covering your power hitters, the development of the program is moving in the right direction.”

NIU opened the game with a four-run first inning. Naegele delivered the big blow in the inning with a three-run homer to left center. An RBI single by Grable in the second and Howlett’s homer in the third gave the Huskies a nice cushion heading into the top of the fourth. Unfortunately, that lead evaporated as Elon put up a six spot in the fourth to tie the game.

The Huskies responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to take an 8-6 advantage. Katie Lamich (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) walked to lead off the inning and two batters later, with one out, Naegele hit her second home run, this time to right field. NIU would never trail again.

Elon scored a run in the top of the fifth, but the Huskies came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning. NIU added three more in the bottom of the sixth keyed by a two-RBI single by Grable to right center. Van Geertry capped the scoring with an RBI single to give NIU a 13-7 lead heading into the seventh.

The Phoenix added two runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run homer. That would be as close as Elon would get. Emma Ray who came in to pitch in the top of the fifth, got the final two outs to secure the victory.

The Huskies return to action Friday when NIU faces Robert Morris and host UNC Greensboro. First pitch for game one is set for 11 a.m. CT with the second game slated to start at 4 p.m.

-NIU-