LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Northern Illinois University softball team wrapped up the Liberty Classic with a 6-1 win over Princeton Sunday morning at Kamphuis Field. Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) was explosive on both offense and defense for NIU. She rung up seven batters to tie her career-high and logged the second home run of her career.

"Today speaks volumes for this team - a bounce-back win where all three parts of the game performed well," said head NIU coach Christina Sutcliffe. "'Dee Dee' [Danielle Stewart] did an excellent job of keeping their hitters off balance and collecting her first collegiate win in the circle."

Through the three-day tournament, the Huskies went 2-3 with wins over Elon and Princeton.

NIU 6, Princeton 1
NIU (3-7) struck first in the second inning with Courtney James' (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) two RBI single to left field, scoring Kelly Walinski's (Worth, Ill./Marist) and Rylie Hartman (Kankakee, Ill./Herscher).

The Huskies later doubled their lead to 4-0 in the third inning when Stewart sent a two-run bomb over the left field fence, scoring herself and Caitlyn Shumaker (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine), who previously reached on an error.

With Stewart dealing in the circle, NIU held the Tigers (2-3) scoreless until the fifth inning when Princeton got on the board via RBI double.  

In the ensuing Huskie at-bat however, NIU scored again when Shumaker drew a bases-loaded walk, forcing the Tigers to change arms.

In the final inning, Delaney Ostrowski (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) added a security run with a solo shot over the left field fence, her first dinger of the season.

Stewart shut the door on any chance of a Tiger comeback in bottom of the seventh. The freshman forced two fly outs and struck out her seventh batter to tie her career-high which was set last evening versus Elon.

Notes

• NIU scored six runs off nine hits and had zero errors
• Princeton scored one run off five hits and had one error
• Stewart (1-4) earned her first win and complete game in the circle
  • She faced 27 batters and garnered seven strikeouts to tie her career-high
• Ostrowski led NIU's attack with a 3-4 performance in the batter's box, including a homer and a double
• James had a game-high two RBI
• Rylie Hartman (Kankakee, Ill./Herscher) had a team-high seven putouts

Up Next
The Huskies have a quick turnaround as they'll take on USF, South Carolina – Upstate, Army, Rhode Island, and Kansas at the USF Bulls Invitational March 3-5.