DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University softball team cashed in nine runs in the first inning to win its home opener over the UIC Flames, 13-2, at Mary M. Bell Field on Tuesday.
The Huskies (10-20, 1-2 MAC) used timely hitting and drew seven walks to defeat the Flames in five innings. NIU has won two out of its last three games in five-inning fashion.
After UIC (13-12) scored on an RBI single to start the game, the Huskies came alive in the bottom half of the inning. Junior
Jenny Van Geertry (Mokena, Ill. /Lincoln-Way East) led off and reached base after getting hit by a pitch from Jennah Speth. After junior
Dominique Greeno (Lacey, Wash. /North Thurston) singled and
Sam Schmidt (Lombard, Ill. /Willowbrook) walked to load the bases, senior
Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ind. /New Castle) drew a walk as well to score Van Geertry and tie the game 1-1.
Sophomore
Kayla Scaperrotta (Coral Springs, Fla. /Coral Springs Charter School) then reached on a fielder's choice, as Greeno beat a throw home to make the score 2-1. Senior
Bekah Harnish (Maple Park, Ill. /Burlington Central) followed with an infield single that brought Schmidt around to score. Sophomore
Anne Allen (Frankfort, Ill. /Lincoln-Way North) then laced a base hit to right center to drive in two more runs and give the Huskies a 5-1 lead.
"I was just seeing the ball great today and taking my hacks," said Allen.
With runners on the corners and no outs, freshman
Katie Wingerter (Prospect Heights, Ill. /Hersey) hit a sacrifice fly which drove in Harnish and put the score at 6-1. After junior
Katie Lamich (Naperville, Ill. /Naperville Central) and Van Geertry walked, Greeno smacked a two-RBI single to left field to give NIU an 8-1 lead. Schmidt followed with a run-scoring groundout to put the Huskies ahead 9-1.
"Anytime you are scoring eight, nine runs in the first inning sets you up for the whole game," said NIU head softball coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "You can play a little bit more relaxed and hope to hold the lead at that point."
UIC tacked on a run in the top of the second to cut the deficit to seven, 9-2. The Huskies were not done yet and struck for two more runs in the bottom of the second. Harnish and Allen led off the inning with back-to-back singles. With Wingerter at the plate and runners at the corners, the Huskies executed a double steal which scored Harnish from third and moved Allen up to second. After a fly out, Van Geertry smoked her fourth triple of the season that drove in Allen and gave NIU an 11-2 lead. The Huskies added a run in both the third and fourth innings.
The Huskies had five players with at least two hits on the day, led by Allen's 3-for-3 showing with two RBI and two runs scored. Harnish and Greeno each had two hits and two RBI. Schmidt was 2-for-3 on the day with two runs, an RBI, and a walk.
"Sam [Schmidt] has just been consistent going from the weekend and today she was kind of continuing," said Sutcliffe. "She just missed the home run, but she is just being consistent hitting the ball where they are not."
In the circle, senior
Keegan Hayes (Naperville, Ill. /Naperville Central) threw two innings of four-hit ball. Freshman
Mackenzie Bryan (Elwood, Ind. /Elwood) threw the next two innings giving up three hits and junior
Alex Frenz (Oakville, Mo. /Oakville) pitched the fifth inning.
"That was the gameplan going into today," said Sutcliffe. "We just wanted all of our pitchers to get some innings and get them some work for the weekend with Buffalo. That is just kind of what they do."
The Huskies continue their homestand on Friday and Saturday when they host Buffalo. The series starts at 3 p.m. on Friday at Mary M. Bell Field.
–NIU–
