LYNCHBURG, Va. – It was a rainy day at the Liberty softball stadium Saturday, but that didn't stop the Northern Illinois University softball team from splitting its doubleheader against Elon on day two of the Liberty Classic. After a pair of rain delays in game one, the Huskies came-from-behind to win 7-4 before losing in extra innings 8-7 in the closer.
"Today was a long-fought battle for both teams," said head NIU coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "Sitting through two long rain delays is never an easy feat. We aren't happy with the split knowing one got away from us, but we will pick ourselves up, learn, and rise up tomorrow. We had a lot of shining moments today including Dee Dee's [
Danielle Stewart] pitching and offensive performance."
Game One: NIU 7, Elon 4
After falling behind 4-0, the Huskies (2-7) sparked a comeback in the second inning when
Kacie Quick (Bloomington, Ill./Normal West) helped
Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley) reach home plate after her RBI single to left field.
The weather came in just before the third frame could start, forcing the action to cease for over an hour. Coming out of the break, NIU cut its deficit to two runs after
Caitlyn Shumaker (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) knocked an RBI single to left field, scoring
Ally Rodriguez (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East).
After a scoreless fourth inning, the Huskies lit up the scoreboard in the fifth, exploding for five runs on four hits. It all began when
Rylie Hartman (Kankakee, Ill./Herscher) rocketed a solo blast over the left field fence with no outs, NIU's first home run of the season.
Three at-bats later,
Sam Mallinder (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) scored Shumaker with an RBI single.
Courtney James (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) was the encore as she scored Mallinder and
Cara Cruthers (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) with a two RBI single.
Finally, as the rain made its resurgence over Kamphuis Field,
Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) gave NIU a 7-4 advantage when she tripled to center field and James raced across home plate.
The umpires were forced to call the game complete early, giving NIU its first win of the tournament.
Notes
- NIU's win snapped a six-game skid
- Eight Huskies logged a hit in the game
- Emily Dato (Munster, Ind./Munster) is now 2-1 in the circle after earning the win
- Herself and Lily Cassell (LaGrange, Ohio/Keystone) combined for three strikeouts and just one earned run
Game Two: Elon 8, NIU 7
The Huskies picked up right where they left off in game one, scoring a trio of runs right away in the first inning after Mallinder's RBI single and Stewart's two RBI bomb over the left center fence.
Kelly Walinski's (Worth, Ill./Marist) and Cruthers each posted RBI singles in the second inning before, in the fourth inning, NIU went up 7-0 thanks to two more runs. Elon (5-8) however ignited its comeback in their half of the fourth with a solo homer.
The Phoenix inched closer in the sixth inning after an RBI double and single, making the score 7-3 in favor of NIU.
After the Huskies couldn't score any security runs in the top half of the seventh inning, Elon knotted the game 7-7, scoring four-straight runs on three separate NIU pitchers.
In extra innings, Cruthers was planted on second and advanced to third after a sac bunt, but was unable to reach home plate.
Elon won the game with its bases-loaded RBI single, ending the eight-hour long doubleheader in walk-off fashion.
Notes
- The Huskies' 13 hits and seven RBI were season-highs
- Rodriguez was 3-4 in the batter's box while Shumaker was 3-5 to lead the Huskies' attack
- Cruthers, Mallinder and Stewart logged two RBI apiece
- Stewart (0-4) rang up a season-high seven batters
Up Next
NIU will look to end the Liberty Classic on a high note tomorrow when it takes on Princeton at 8 a.m. CT.
