Final Stats

NIU 5-EMU 1 Box Score 

YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Northern Illinois University softball team opened its weekend series with Eastern Michigan with a 5-1 victory over the Eagles at Varsity Field in Ypsilanti, Mich. Friday.

Caitlyn Warren (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) drove in all five runs for NIU (29-13, 10-5) as the Huskie senior belted two home runs, including a grand slam.

“She single-handedly won that game for us,” said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. “She did a real nice job sitting on that pitcher and hitting some line drives that went over the fence.”

Warren’s two homers accounted for half the Huskie hit total. Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana) and Emily Naegele (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) each went 1-for-3. However, NIU batters were able to take advantage of some wildness by Eagle (18-24, 8-7) pitchers. The Huskies coaxed four walks and were hit by a pitch three times.

“We didn’t necessarily hit to our capabilities, but we did a nice job being patient and drawing some walks,” Sutcliffe said. “We had a couple hit-by-pitches so we were able to make some things happen in an unorthodox way.”

Warren hit her first home run in the second inning when she blasted a one-out solo shot to centerfield.

NIU loaded the bases in the top of the third after the Eagles retired the first two Huskies. Grable singled up the middle and Naegele walked. Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ind./New Castle) was hit by a pitch, keeping the inning alive and bringing Warren to the plate. She then cleared the bases with her second homer of the day once again over the centerfield fence. Her five RBIs on the day is a career high.

The combination of Alex Frenz (Oakville, Mo./Oakville) and Tara Thacker (Uniontown, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) proved strong once again for the Huskies. Frenz allowed just one run while scattering seven hits and striking out five in four-and-two-thirds innings to pick up the win. Thacker went two-and-a-third innings of shutout softball to pick up the save.

Thacker had to pitch out of a jam in the bottom of the fifth. With a run in and two on and two outs, the Huskie sophomore walked the first batter she faced to load the bases. She then got the groundout to end the threat and limit the damage. “Alex did a nice job of keeping them off balance in that inning,” she said. “She started to lose her command a little bit towards the end. Tara was able to come in and give us a different look and get us out of that inning.”

NIU concludes its series with the Eagles tomorrow when the Huskies face EMU in a doubleheader. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 12 p.m. with the second game to follow. Fans can follow all the action via live stats at emueagles.com.

-NIU-