AKRON, OHIO. – The Northern Illinois University softball team fell to the Ohio Bobcats, 8-0, in a winner's bracket game of the 2018 Mid-American Conference Softball Tournament at Firestone Stadium on Friday. 
 
Ohio pitcher Danielle Steine held the Huskies (23-31, 11-11) without a hit and allowed only one base runner on the day. Junior Sam Schmidt (Lombard, Ill. /Willowbrook) walked in the fourth inning.  Steine pitched six innings and struck out six Huskies. 
 
The Bobcats opened the scoring in the first inning, when designated player Morgan Geno, who reached on an infield single, drove in Bobcats lead-off hitter Mikayla Cooper making the score 1-0. With two outs in the second inning, the Bobcats tacked on another run on an RBI single by Cooper making the score 2-0.
 
Ohio put the game away in the bottom of the sixth, scoring six in the inning. Cooper added the big blow in the inning. With the Bobcats up, 5-0, she hit a three-run double to end the contest. 
 
"We did not do a good enough job getting the out of the inning," said NIU head softball coach Christina Sutcliffe.  "If we took care of that, we would be alright.
 
"We are fine. We have a pitching staff that can get through three games easily in one day.  I am not worried."
 
The Huskies return to the diamond Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and will face the winner of the Ball State-Toledo game later tonight.
 
­-NIU-