Box Score

Miami 2, NIU 1 Box Score 

AKRON, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University softball team was edged by Miami in the winners’ bracket final at the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Friday evening, 2-1, meaning the Huskies will have to win three games on Saturday now instead of one in order to earn the league title.

The Huskies (35-19) out-hit the No. 2 seed RedHawks (33-21) by an 8-3 margin and constantly threatened offensively, but Miami put up one run in the first inning and another in the seventh to deny NIU a crucial win in the tournament and give the Huskies their first loss of the event at Firestone Stadium in Akron.

NIU softball head coach Christina Sutcliffe thought her team played a quality game but needed to be more opportunistic offensively against Miami’s star pitcher Amber Logemann.

“It was just a really good game. Miami played well. We played very well. We just didn’t come through in the clutch offensively enough when it mattered most, but that’s what can happen in this game. Softball showed that it’s a game of inches,” Sutcliffe said, referencing several deep fly balls hit by the Huskies that were inches away from being home runs. “We’ll just have to win this tournament the hard way.”

The RedHawks scored the game’s opening run in the top of the first frame without recording a hit. Miami used a walk and a hit-by-pitch to put two on with no outs. Frenz got a ground-ball double play from RedHawks slugger Taylor Shuey, but Miami took the lead on an error the following at-bat.

The game then settled into a rhythm of NIU starting pitcher Alex Frenz (Oakville, Mo./Oakville) dominating the circle while the Huskie offense threatened but couldn’t catch a break; the MAC Freshman of the Year actually carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning even with her team down 1-0.

Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif/Santana) and Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ind./New Castle) both hit deep fly balls to left field with home-run distance that unfortunately just slipped by the wrong side of the foul pole, and the Huskies left runners in scoring position on numerous occasions.

After Miami scored another run in the seventh inning on a chopper by Lauren Anderson that rolled down into the left-field corner and scored Tanya Busby, it was Woollard who finally provided a breakthrough for NIU in the bottom of the seventh inning with a towering home run to left center. Her sixth long ball of the season gave her team life, but the Huskies couldn’t capitalize when Kali Kossakowski (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) singled later in the frame.

Now shifting to the MAC Tournament losers’ bracket, the Huskies are scheduled to play in the opening game tomorrow against Kent State or Ohio at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT in Akron. The winner of that game will then immediately play Miami, needing to beat the RedHawks twice in order to claim the MAC Tournament title and earn the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.

Coach Sutcliffe remains confident that the Huskies are capable of doing exactly that on Saturday, citing the team’s pitching as the primary reason why NIU could win three consecutive games.

“We’ll take it one inning at a time and battle tomorrow,” Sutcliffe added. “We certainly have the pitching staff to do it. If anyone can win three games on Saturday at the MAC Tournament, it’s this team.”

--NIU--