DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University Softball team posted its second sweep of the week as the Huskies took a pair from Eastern Michigan at Mary M. Bell Field Friday.
 
Just like Wednesday's doubleheader win in a midweek match up with Valparaiso, the Huskies (26-18, 12-8) rallied from a pair of early deficits in both games. NIU trailed Eastern Michigan (15-30, 3-16) 3-0 in the first inning of game one and 3-0 after the second in game two. The Huskies came back to win the first game, 13-5 in five innings and the second, 8-3, to complete the sweep.
 
"We're playing pretty well right now," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. "Obviously we're putting up some runs on the board and giving our pitchers some support. We're starting a little slow, both pitching and defensively so it's nice when we can counteract that with a bunch of runs."
 
While pitching propelled NIU to Wednesday's sweep, it was the NIU offense that was the story Friday. The Huskies tallied 21 runs on 21 hits with Abby Howlett (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) leading the way. The Huskie sophomore went 5-for-6 with three RBIs and three runs scored, including a 3-for-3, three RBI performance in the first game.
 
After falling behind 3-0 before their first at bat, the Huskies responded with an eight-run first, sending 14 batters to the plate. Trailing 3-1 with the bases loaded and no outs, Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ill./New Castle) gave NIU the lead with a bases clearing double to left-center field. Howlett tacked on a pair with a home run, her fourth of the season, to left center to give NIU a 6-3 advantage.
 
Alex Frenz (Oakville, Mo./Oakville), who came in to pitch in relief of Keegan Hayes (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) in the first, tossed a scoreless second and the Huskie offense was back at it again. NIU tallied three runs in the bottom of the inning with Jenny Van Geertry (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) delivering the big blow in the inning on a two-RBI double to left center.
 
"She's getting back in her rhythm," Sutcliffe said of Frenz. "She started out really strong, then in the middle of the year, she hit a couple pumps, but now she's getting back in her rhythm which is good to see."
 
With NIU leading 12-5 with one out and a runner at second in the bottom of the fifth, Howlett capped off her perfect evening with a single to center to drive in Woollard and give NIU the win.
 
A pair of big innings and a solid start from Tara Thacker (Uniontown, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) in the circle were the difference for NIU in game two.
 
Trailing 3-0 after a three-run second from the Eagles, NIU responded with three runs on two hits and took advantage of a pair of Eagle errors to tie the game. Two innings later, the Huskies took the lead for good on a solo homer to left from Woollard. Woollard drove in her second run in as many innings when she coaxed a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the fifth.
 
With a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth, NIU erupted with another three-run inning to effectively put the game away. Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana) delivered a two-run single to left field and senior Skylar Weinstein drove in the final run of the day and a single through the left side of the infield to drive in Bekah Harnish (Maple Park, Ill./Burlington Central).
 
Thacker was impressive, allowing three runs, two unearned, on two hits and a walk for the complete game victory.
 
NIU returns to the diamond Saturday when NIU concludes its series with Eastern Michigan with first pitch 10 a.m. Fans can watch all the action live on NIUTube and can follow live stats on NIUHuskies.com.
 
In a continuation of NIU Softball's cancer awareness weekend, the Huskies are partnering with Cal's Angels on Saturday with the goal of raising $1,000 for Cal's Angels so that we can grant the wish of a Chicagoland child suffering with pediatric cancer. Donations will be accepted at the game or can be given in advance online via the Cal's Angels website. 
 
-NIU-