DEKALB, Ill. – With inclement weather expected in the DeKalb area for Sunday, the Northern Illinois University softball team's single game with Bowling Green turned into a doubleheader at Mary M. Bell Field on Saturday.
The Huskies (19-31, 13-21) took the first game over the Falcons (26-26, 18-19), 9-5, behind a strong outing by senior
Mackenzie Bryant on Senior Day. However, Bowling Green took the second game, and the series, 6-2.
After being held scoreless in 11 innings by Bowling Green starter Payton Gottschall in yesterday's doubleheader, the Huskies jumped on her early and often in the first game Saturday. NIU chased the Falcon starter after two-thirds of an inning. The Huskies took a page out of BG's book from Friday, scoring all six first-inning runs after two outs in the inning.
Kelly Walinksi opened the scoring with an RBI single through the left side of the infield, scoring
Amberly Rodriguez, who reached on a fielder's choice and stole second, for the first run of the game. Walinski then came around to score on a Bianca double to gap in right center.
Sam Mallinder extended NIU's advantage to 4-0 on a two-run blast off the scoreboard in left field.
Kara Apato kept the inning alive when she walked, then moved into scoring position when she stole second. Apato came around to score of a
Megan Guericke double to left center. Guericke scored the sixth run of the inning when she stole second and home on relief pitcher Sydney Stepp.
The Huskies added two more runs in the bottom of the second to go up 8-0. Rodriguez coaxed a leadoff walk and stole second to move into scoring position for
Katie Keller. Keller hit a blast to the left field fence. Bowling Green's Peyton Dolejs, who was running hard at the ball slammed into the left field fence and was injured. Once the centerfielder could get to the ball, Keller was rounding third and scored.
Bryan held the Falcons to three hits through four scoreless innings before Bowling Green broke through with a pair of two out runs and extending the game to what would be a full seven innings. Bryan gave up three more runs in the sixth, but NIU added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double by
Carley Goetschius.
Bryan, who was pitching to her fellow senior
Kira Mickelson behind the plate, went the distance, allowing five runs, two earned, one seven hits, four walks and striking out four.
"Kenzie gave us pretty much everything she had left in her today," NIU head coach
Christina Sutcliffe said. "It's tough for her to throw back-to-back days at this point because of her injuries, but she looked at me in the fifth or sixth inning when she got in trouble and said, 'please don't take me out.' She wanted to leave it all out on the field this weekend."
Gottschall exacted a bit of revenge in game two of the day, holding NIU to two runs on five hits in the second game.
"In the first game we were super disciplined off her," Sutcliffe said. "We made her throw strikes and attacked her when she did. In the second game, we went back to chasing her stuff and weren't quite as disciplined, until the end, therefore she was effective against us."
NIU continues its 10-game season-ending homestand with a doubleheader against Ball State on Wednesday 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.
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