SAN DIEGO – The Northern Illinois University softball team ended their run at the SDSU Season Kickoff Sunday afternoon by taking on San Diego State at the SDSU Softball Stadium. The Aztecs, thanks to explosive offense, won the game 11-1 in six innings.
"We are excited to get back to DeKalb and get to work," said head NIU coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "This team has a ton of potential, and we are excited to watch 'Team 65' grow and develop."
With
Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) starting in the circle for the Huskies, NIU (1-4) struck first behind back-to-back singles from
Ally Rodriguez (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) and
Cara Cruthers (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) in the first inning.
Kelly Walinski (Worth, Ill./Marist) helped Rodriguez reach home plate after executing a perfect sac bunt, giving NIU an early 1-0 lead.
That was the only offense the Huskies could garner though as the NIU bats cooled while the Aztec's (4-1) heated up.
SDSU racked up 14 hits through the remainder of the game while NIU logged six. Rodriguez paced NIU in the batter's box with a 2-3 performance while Walinski had the sole RBI.
On defense, Wallinski led the team with five putouts and three assists while
Trinity Jones Estrada (Sylmar, Calif./John F. Kennedy) was close behind with four putouts and one assist.
In the circle, Stewart rang up a season-high three batters and allowed just two hits and one walk through 2.2 innings of work.
NIU will have just under two weeks to prepare for the Liberty Tournament in Lynchburg, Va. The Huskies will face Marshall (3-1), Elon (1-3), Princeton and Liberty (1-4) in the tournament.
