DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University softball team suffered a doubleheader loss to Bowling Green in the series opener at Mary M. Bell Field on Friday.
The Huskies (18-30, 12-20) lost the series opener, 1-0, to Bowling Green (25-25, 17-18) before dropping the nightcap 15-4.
NIU's offense was held to nine hits and five runs in the two games. The top of the Huskie order was held to 2-for-7 in the first game and 2-for-11 in the second.
Katie Keller had the bat taken out of her hand with three walks in game two.
"We had a ton of runners on base," NIU head coach
Christina Sutcliffe said. "We just need to figure out how to be one hit better. Their pitcher [Payton Gottschall] threw 11 innings of shutout ball. I tip my hat to her and hopefully we make some adjustments tonight and go to work tomorrow."
Freshman
Claire Norred was effective in the first game, allowing just one unearned run on six hits while striking out three. Her only blemish came with two outs in the third inning. After back-to-back singles, Nikki Sorgi reached on a Huskie error. Falcon runs after two outs would be a theme on the day.
Game two started strong for NIU as the Huskies took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on aggressive base running by
Amberly Rodriguez. After
Courtney James doubled to right, Rodriguez laid down a perfect bunt, reached safely, and with a heads up play advanced to an uncovered second base. The Falcon second baseman, who went to cover first on the bunt, tried to get Rodriguez out at second, but threw the ball to left field allowing James and Rodriguez to score.
However, the Falcons responded with four runs, all coming after two outs, in the top of the third. NIU came back and tied the contest with two runs in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double by
Bianca Barone. Barone, then scored on a heads up base running play.
Sam Mallinder reached on a single and made a big turn to second, drawing the attention on the Falcons off Barone allowing her to score.
Unfortunately for NIU, that would be all they offense it could muster. Bowling Green retook the lead with three runs in the fourth before plating eight runs, all coming with two outs, in the top of the seventh.
The Huskies and Falcons continue their series tomorrow with a single game at Mary M. Bell Field. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. Fans can watch all the action on NIUTube or follow via live stats on NIUHuskies.com. With inclement weather expected in the area this weekend, be sure to check NIUHuskies.com or @NIUSoftball on Twitter for any schedule changes.
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