DEKALB, Ill. –The Northern Illinois University softball team came alive for 19 runs in a doubleheader sweep of the Buffalo Bulls Friday afternoon at Mary M. Bell Field, winning by scores of 10-0 and 9-1.  
 
"it is our fourth run-rule game in the last five games and our offense is clicking," said NIU head softball coach Christina Sutcliffe.  "What I actually like a lot better is their two-strike approach and what we did with two outs offensively."
 
The Huskies and the Bulls were scoreless going into the bottom of third inning of game one. NIU got on the board when Jenny Van Geertry (Mokena, Ill. /Lincoln-Way East) reached on a single to centerfield. Buffalo centerfielder Leandra Jew bobbled the ball, allowing Katie Lamich (Naperville, Ill. /Naperville Central) to score the game's first run as Van Geertry got all the way to third base. Junior Dominique Greeno (Lacey, Wash. /North Thurston) kept the inning going with a single through the left side, driving in Van Geertry to make the score 2-0. and junior Sam Schmidt (Lombard, Ill. /Willowbrook) continued to keep the line moving with a single.  With one out and the bases loaded, senior Bekah Harnish (Maple Park, Ill. /Burlington Central) singled to centerfield to bring two runners home.  Sophomore Anne Allen (Frankfort, Ill. /Lincoln-Way Central) added an RBI single and NIU jumped out to a 5-0 advantage.    
 
NIU (12-20, 3-2 MAC) starting pitcher Tara Thacker (Uniontown, Ohio. /North Canton Hoover) did her part to keep the Huskies in front. The class did not allow a hit until the top of the fourth and only allowed two in the game. In the bottom of the fourth, the Huskies tacked on two more runs via a Schmidt RBI single and a  senior Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ind. /New Castle)  run-scoring triple to give NIU a 7-0 lead. The Huskies then put the finishing touches on game one in the fifth, as Van Geertry hit a three-run home run over the left centerfield fence to give NIU a 10-0 win. 
 
"I just have the confidence and feel confident at the plate," said Van Geertry.  "I just have taken a new approach and it is just fun to be relaxed and seeing everyone else do well too."
 
Van Geertry was 3-for-4 in the opening game with three RBI and a stolen base. Schmidt, Woollard, and Harnish each added a pair of hits. Thacker earned her team-leading fifth win of the year in game one, throwing just 61 pitches for her second shutout with one walk and two strikeouts.
 
The Huskies picked up where they left off in game two, putting three runs on the board in the bottom of the first. Van Geertry led off with a walk.  After a couple of ground outs, Woollard hit a two-run homer to straight-away centerfield to make the score 2-0. Harnish followed that longball with one of her own down the left field line to put the Huskies up 3-0.  
 
NIU added three more runs in the second.  With two outs, Lamich singled and Van Geertry coaxed a walk.  Greeno stepped in a cranked a double to right field, clearing the bases to make the score 5-0 Huskies.  Schmidt then knocked a base hit to right field, bringing Greeno around to score the sixth NIU run. Schmidt has had at least two hits in her last five games and Huskies lead 6-0 after two.  
 
"I am just just trying to make contact and put the ball in play to make good things happen," said Schmidt after recorded her fifth straight multi-hit game.  
 
After Buffalo (11-16, 3-2 MAC) scored on an RBI groundout in the top of the fifth, the Huskies answered right back in the bottom half with an RBI double by Woollard.  The Huskies then closed the door on the Bulls in the sixth. With runners at second and third with no outs, Van Geertry hit a single to the gap in left-centerfield to bring in Lamich. When leftfielder Anna Aguon bobbled the ball, sophomore Kalalaelisa Toomalatai (Imperial Beach, Calif. /Otay Ranch)  came around to score the winning run as NIU took the nightcap 9-1. 
 
In the circle, freshman Mackenzie Bryan (Elwood, Ind. /Elwood) went five strong innings, giving up one run on two hits with three strikeouts. Woollard was 2-for-3 in game two with three RBI.
 
"They [the pitchers] have only given up two runs in the last four games and the four of them are doing some good things," said Sutcliffe.  "I just think we have found the combination of where they work together and they are doing a nice job. " 
 
The Huskies and the Bulls play the final game of the weekend series at Mary M. Bell Field on Saturday at 1 p.m.  Live stats and video will be available on niuhuskies.com
 
–NIU–