DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University Softball team scored its first series sweep of the season as the Huskies defeated Eastern Michigan, 5-2, at Mary M. Bell Field Saturday.
 
"Anytime you can win three games from an opponent in conference is a good thing," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. "Hopefully we can carry that momentum into next week and finish strong."
 
For the second straight game, NIU (27-18, 13-8) received another quality start from Tara Thacker (Uniontown, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) as the Huskie junior pitched out two early jams and kept Eastern Michigan (15-31, 3-17) off the scoreboard through the first four innings.
 
"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."
 
Thacker scattered seven hits and a walk while allowing two runs in seven innings of work to improve to 8-9 on the season.
 
"Anytime you can throw for the fourth, fifth and six time against their hitters, and still get it done, you're doing something right," she said. "For her to be able to do that, throw two complete games on the weekend, says something about her."
 
Offensively, it was the middle of the Huskie order that did most of the damage. Kali Kossakowski (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward) led the way from the clean-up spot going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ill./New Castle) continued her hot hitting this weekend going 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored.
 
While yesterday's games were full of offense, with the wind blowing in, cold temperatures and rain expected, Saturday's game was a low-scoring affair with only four extra base hits.
 
"It was definitely tough," said Sutcliffe. "Between the wind and the cold, we haven't had that kind of cold in a while, they had to mentally get around it and go do it."
 
After a scoreless first inning, the Huskies found themselves in a bind when EMU loaded the bases with only one out. Thacker struck out Lucy Lopez and got Michelle Kriegshauser to fly out to Kossakowski.
 
NIU opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the inning when Abby Howlett (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) reached on a  fielder's choice and drove in Kossakowski from third. A bloop infield single by Woollard scored Bekah Harnish (Maple Park, Ill./Burlington Central) all the way from second to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third.
 
After Eastern Michigan cut the deficit in half, with a run in the top of the fifth, NIU extended its lead to three with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. An RBI single by Kossakowski drove in Harnish from third. The Huskie senior then came around to score from second three batters later when Howlett reached on an error by the Eagle second baseman.
 
An RBI double by Kayti Grable (Santee, Calif./Santana) in the sixth gave NIU an insurance and capped the game's scoring for the Huskies.
 
NIU returns to the diamond Tuesday when the Huskies travel to Madison, Wisc. to face Wisconsin in a single game. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
 
-NIU-