OXFORD, Ohio. – The Northern Illinois University softball team took down defending Mid-American Conference Champions, Miami, on a windy Saturday afternoon at the Miami Softball Field in Oxford, Ohio. The Huskies won the contest 3-2 as freshman pitcher
Danielle Stewart fanned six batters en route to her fifth win in the circle.
"I think the biggest thing was that we jumped on them early within the first and second inning," said head NIU coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "We came in with a plan and we were able to execute it. We let our speed do what it does to get that early lead. 'Dee Dee' [
Danielle Stewart] did an awesome job of just hanging on to it and doing what she needed to do to get that win,"
NIU 3, Miami 2
Cara Cruthers (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) batted in
Caitlyn Shumaker (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) in the first inning. Shumaker, batting leadoff, got aboard via a single to center field before the speedster stole second. Two at-bats later and with two outs, Cruthers' single was redirected to the right side after bouncing off Miami pitcher Brianna Pratt's leg, allowing Shumaker to score.
In the next at-bat,
Sam Mallinder (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) dug in and delivered a massive triple to left field, scoring Cruthers easily as NIU (11-12, 2-1 MAC) went up 2-0 early.
In just her fourth game played of the season,
Kiley Conner (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) started the second inning by knocking a single to center field, her first colligate hit. After Conner stole second and with two outs on the board, Shumaker drilled a single, helping the freshman record her inaugural run.
The RedHawks (14-10, 2-2 MAC) scored their first run of the ballgame in the home half of the inning with a sac fly, but pitcher
Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) (5-5) stymied their offense, allowing no runs and just two hits through the ensuing four innings.
With the score locked at 3-1 in Miami's last chance during the bottom of the seventh, Stewart let up a solo homer in the first at-bat, bringing the RedHawks within one. The freshman, however, did not back down as she forced back-to-back groundouts and a fly out to end the inning and game at 3-2.
"I think the biggest thing for Stewart is she's a competitor, but she's a competitor that stays composed. She doesn't get too high or too low, she just goes about her business and tries to do what she can. And when it's time to pass the ball to her next partner, she does. So, I think that's the biggest thing for her. She's never trying to do more than what's within her ability,"
Notes
- NIU scored three runs off seven hits and had no errors
- Miami scored two runs off four hits and had two errors
- Stewart sat down six RedHawks en route to her fifth win in the circle
- Shumaker led at the dish with a perfect 3-3 performance and one RBI
- Mallinder was 2-3 with one RBI
- Cruthers and Conner were each 1-3 while Cruthers had the third RBI
Up Next
NIU will end its three-game series with Miami tomorrow (March 26) with a doubleheader. Game times are set for noon and 2 p.m. CT with the games streaming live on
YouTube.
"Tomorrow's games don't know that we won today. So, we have got to come out again tomorrow with a different plan. I'm sure they'll make adjustments, so we have got to come back and continue to try not to do too much - let's not try to be somebody that we're not. So, we're just going to continue to put the ball in play and execute what we're trying to do."
