DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University softball team dropped its doubleheader with Ball State at Mary M. Bell Field on Wednesday.
 
The Huskies (19-33, 13-23) suffered a 13-4 setback in five innings to the Cardinals (33-18, 27-8) in game one before falling 13-1 in the game two. In both games, NIU took the early lead.
 
In the first game, NIU opened up a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded and two outs Katie Keller put the ball in play to the Ball State second baseman who let the ball go through her legs, scoring Courtney James and Carley Goetschius.
 
Unfortunately, Ball State came back with three runs in the top of the third before plating 10 in the top of the fifth. The Huskies scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth when Bianca Barone reached on an error by the Cardinal third baseman to score Keller and Amberly Rodriguez.
 
NIU opened a 1-0 lead in game two, again capitalizing on Ball State's defense. Rodriguez reached on a one out infield single and advanced to second on a groundout by Keller. She then took third on a wild pitch. Rodriguez came in to score when Barone reached on an error by Ball State's second baseman.
 
Senior Mackenzie Bryan kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard for the first four innings until the Cardinals broke through in the fifth. Ball State put up a five spot in the top of the fifth and eight more in the top of the sixth to close out the game.
 
NIU continues its 10-game season-ending homestand Friday when the Huskies welcome the 2021 Mid-American Conference champion Miami RedHawks. Fans can watch all the action on NIUTube or follow via live stats on NIUHuskies.com. Be sure to check NIUHuskies.com or @NIUSoftball on Twitter for any schedule changes.
 
-NIU-