Final Stats

KSU 1-NIU 4 Box Score 

KSU 7-NIU 5 Box Score 

DEKALB, Ill. -- In a battle of division leaders, the Northern Illinois University softball team split its doubleheader with Kent State at Mary M. Bell Field Friday.

NIU (23-9, 4-1) took the first game, 4-1, led by Emily Naegele's (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) two home run, three RBI performance. However, after a three-hour rain delay, Kent State (21-10, 4-1) took the nightcap, 7-5.

"I thought this is how the day would go," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. "We're both pretty good offensive threats with good pitching. Unfortunately we didn't have enough defense in the second game to pull off the sweep. Kudos to them for putting the runs on the board."

Kent State jumped on top early, scoring a run in the first inning of game one. However, that would be all the runs the Golden Flashes would scratch across as starter Alex Frenz (Oakville, Mo./Oakville) would shut Kent State out the next six innings. Frenz improved to 10-2 on the season allowing one run on four hits while striking out three.

"Alex is doing really well in conference play," she said. "It's nice to see her follow up last weekend with today's performance. Hopefully she just keeps it going."

Naegele and the Huskie offense took it from there. With one on and two outs, the Huskie senior hit her first home run of the day when she blasted a homer over the right field fence to give NIU a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first.

In the bottom of the third, again with two outs, Naegele went yard again in almost a replay of her first home run of the game. Her home run landed about 10 feet away from where her first blast ended up. Naegele's home run made the score, 3-1 in the third.

"Naegele's just doing an awesome job for us," Sutcliffe said. "She's been doing it all year. She had a good year last year, so it's good see her follow that up. The rest of the lineup is doing a nice job behind her, but she's definitely been the spark plug."

The Huskies tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Jessica Rio (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield East) singled to right field to drive in Bekah Harnish (Maple Park, Ill./Burlington Central).

Defensive miscues and the big inning hurt NIU in game two. The Huskies committed four errors in the game and Kent State tallied a pair of three-run innings. Like first game, the Golden Flashes scored first, however in game two, they didn't let up.

Kent State posted a three spot in the top of the second, scoring three runs on three hits and an error. NIU responded in the bottom of the inning on and RBI groundout by Rio. The Huskies pulled to within a run, 3-2, when Naegele reached on a fielder's choice, driving in Kali Kossakowski (Elgin, Ill/St. Edward) in the bottom of the fifth.

The Golden Flashes got the run back in the top of the sixth and blew the game open in the top of the seventh. Kent State took a 7-2 lead when it plated three runs in the inning.

NIU mounted a late comeback but it wasn't enough. The Huskies scored three in the inning, highlighted by Naegele's third home run of the day and her 15th of the season. Again, she went opposite field, but this time her homer went to right centerfield. Naegele finished the day 3-for-7 with five RBIs and three runs scored.

The Huskies conclude their series with Kent State with a single game Saturday. First pitch for game one is set for 1 p.m. CT. Fans can watch the game on NIUTube and follow the action live via Gametracker.

-NIU-