BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Northern Illinois University softball team suffered a pair of setbacks on the second day of play at the FAU First Pitch Classic at FAU Stadium Saturday.
The Huskies (1-3) fell to Wisconsin, 8-1, in the first game of the day and were unable to come from behind against the host Owls of FAU, falling, 4-3, in the nightcap.
"The team is doing some really great things collective as a whole," said NIU head coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "We just need to clean up around the edges. We fought back tonight [against FAU] and had a chance to win in the seventh."
Trailing by a run headed into the top of the seventh,
Kara Apato gave the Huskies a spark when she reached on a one-out single. She was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by
Amberly Rodriguez. Unfortunately,
Katie Keller flied out to right to end the rally and the game.
The Huskies fell behind early after FAU plated a pair in the first inning. NIU responded with a run in the top of the second on a
Kenny Litana sacrifice fly to center to score
Hannah Goerke. However, FAU answered with a run in the bottom of the frame.
After the Owls added to their lead with another run in the bottom of the fourth, NIU closed the gap to one with two runs in the top of the sixth. Keller, who opened the inning by getting hit by a pitch, stole second to move into scoring position.
Kayla Scaperrotta singled up the middle to score Keller.
Scaperrotta, who advanced to second on the throw, was lifted for pinch runner
Mackenzie Mahy. Mahy advanced to third on an
Anne Allen single to right. She scored on a sacrifice bunt by
Bianca Barone and Allen moved to third on the play with two outs. However, FAU got a strike out to end the inning.
A pair of early runs, to go along with a strong pitching performance by the Badgers was too much for the Huskies to overcome in their first game of the day.
The Badgers took an early 2-0 lead when they tallied two runs in the top of the first inning. A lead-off single got things going for Wisconsin, which was then followed by two RBI hits coming from the two- and three-hole hitters.
The Huskies had an opportunity to respond in their half of the first. After notching back to back singles by Apato and
Amberly Rodriguez to put runners on first and second with no outs. Apato was thrown out at third on a fielder's choice and Rodriguez was caught stealing at third base.
Kira Mickelson grounded out to the shortstop to end the inning.
The Badgers added two more runs to their lead in the fifth inning with a pair of solo home runs to take a 4-0 advantage. Wisconsin added four more runs to their total in the seventh inning to put the contest out of reach.
NIU's lone run came in the seventh inning, when
Danielle Williams scored on an error by the Badger shortstop after reaching on a bunt single.
The Huskies conclude play in the FAU First Pitch Classic with a Sunday morning contest with Indiana State. First pitch is scheduled for 8 a.m. CT
-NIU-
