BUFFALO – The Northern Illinois University softball team split its Mid-American Conference opener with Buffalo at D'Youville College's Dobson Field Sunday.
The Huskies (14-15, 1-1) suffered an 8-4 loss to Buffalo (4-21, 1-1) in game one of the doubleheader before leaving town with a 10-4 victory in game two.
"We knew we had to come out of here with a split," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. "We can't open up the conference getting swept so our goal was to score as much as we could, as often as we could. Get a lead and hold it and get out of here."
A six-run second propelled the Huskies to victory in game two of the day. Bianca Barone (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) was hit by a pitch and Dominique Greeno (Lacey, Wash./North Thurston) walked to start the inning for NIU. Kira Mickelson (Wheatland, Wis./Westosha Central) would make the Bulls pay with a two-run double to center.
Kara Apato (Oak Lawn, Ill./Marist) followed with an RBI single to left to drive in Mickelson and give the Huskies a 3-0 lead. A two-run triple by Jenny Van Geertry (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) three batters later gave NIU a 5-0 advantage. She later scored on an Amberly Rodriquez (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield) groundout.
Buffalo responded with a four runs in the bottom of the second. However, the Huskies kept the pressure on with two runs in the third and two more in the fourth to seal the win.
Mackenzie Bryan (Elwood, Ind./Elwood) was solid in the circle for the Huskies in the complete game victory in game two. The Huskie sophomore allowed four runs, one earned, scattering 10 hits and walked five, while striking out nine to improve to 8-6 on the season.
NIU jumped out to a 4-0 lead through the first four innings of game one, with a run in the second, one in the third, and two in the fourth. However, a seven spot by the Bulls was too much to overcome. Buffalo added a run in the bottom of the sixth, but didn't need it as NIU was held scoreless the final three innings.
"We took our foot off the gas a little bit in the first game," Sutcliffe said. "We started cruising just a tad and unfortunately that came back to bite us in the butt. Obviously, we played six great innings. We just couldn't get out of that fifth inning."
The Huskies return to action Friday when NIU travels to Ohio for a weekend set with the Bobcats. Game one starts at 2 p.m. Central Time with a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday beginning at 12 p.m. CT.
-NIU-
