MUNCIE, Ind. – The two teams tied for the top-spot in the Mid-American Conference gave the fans at the First Merchants Ballpark Complex in Muncie, Ind. a show. The Northern Illinois University softball team split its series opening doubleheader with Ball State Tuesday after falling narrowly in game one 2-1 but exploded for a 14-10 win in game two.
"I definitely don't think it was our sharpest day by any means, but it's, 'how can you win when you don't bring your best stuff?'," said head NIU coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "It just continues to show the tenacity and fight this team has,"
Game One | BSU 2, NIU 1
With NIU's (14-13, 5-2 MAC) ace,
Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East), in the circle, a pitcher's duel was the story of game one as neither team surpassed five hits through the ballgame.
In the second inning, Ball State (15-13, 5-2 MAC) struck first with a bunt single RBI. In the next at-bat, a wild pitch helped the home team go up 2-0 on the Huskies.
It didn't take long for NIU to respond, however. An error in the top of the third inning helped
Ellis Erickson (Lutz, Fla./Freedom) reach first base before
Caitlyn Shumaker's (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) single put Erickson in scoring position on second.
The quick Huskies executed a double steal, forcing confusion on the Ball State defense which resulted in a poor throw, allowing Erickson to trot home for NIU's sole run of the contest.
From there, both teams struggled to spark offense. NIU had a chance to tie the game in the top of the seventh when
Kiley Conner (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) walked, but a double play promptly ended the game.
Notes
- NIU scored one run off three hits and had no errors
- Ball State scored two runs off four hits and had three errors
- Shumaker led at the dish going 1-2
- Stewart (6-6) fanned two batters and walked only three
- She forced seven groundouts and five fly outs
- On offense, she was 1-2
Game Two | NIU 14, BSU 10
The doubleheader's closer was the complete opposite of the opener as the two teams combined for 27 hits and 24 runs.
Back-to-back RBI doubles from
Sam Mallinder (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) and
Ally Rodriguez (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East), plus two hits from Shumaker and
Kelly Walinski (Worth, Ill./Marist), helped the Huskies jump out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning.
The Cardinals responded, matching NIU's runs with five of their own, signaling the coming offensive slugfest.
NIU later regained its lead in the third inning with a two RBI double from Shumaker, but Ball State knotted the game again 7-7 after scoring in the third and fourth innings.
The Huskies answered quickly again, igniting for seven runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Brianna Pechman (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago Community), who was pinch running for Mallinder, kicked things off after racing to home plate on a wild pitch.
In the next at-bat, Stewart's fielder's choice helped Rodriguez score from her position on second base.
Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley) kept the fun going with an RBI single to left field, scoring Stewart.
Walinski scored another pair of runs for NIU after her two RBI double, increasing the advantage to 12-7. In the next at-bat,
Kiley Conner (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) logged the first homer of her collegiate career with a two RBI blast to right field, inflating the Huskies' lead to 14-7.
The Huskies cycled through the entire lineup as Mallinder dug back in and delivered a single to left field, but a strikeout two-at bats later ended the onslaught.
Trailing by seven runs, Ball State made things interesting, scoring three runs in the home half of the fifth. With the Cardinals threatening, pitcher
Delaney Ostrowski (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) entered the circle and recorded the final two outs.
Scoring cooled in the last two innings as only one hit was registered, and no runs were scored. When the dust settled, NIU held its 14-10 lead for its fifth win in the last six games.
"I think we're seeing the ball in the batter's box and doing a good job. We obviously didn't perform offensively in the first game like we would have liked to, so it was really nice to come back in that second game and just play our game and push in as many runs as possible,"
Notes
- NIU scored 14 runs off 16 hits, both season highs
- The Huskies haven't scored 16 runs in a game since Feb. 15, 2020, when NIU scored 16 in its win against Jacksonville State
- Ball State scored 10 runs off 11 hits and had no errors
- Eight of the nine NIU starters logged at least one hit
- Walinski was 3-5 at the plate with a season-high three RBI
- Shumaker was 2-5 with two RBI
- Conner logged her inaugural home run for a career-high two RBI
- Lily Cassell (LaGrange, Ohio/Keystone) (2-5) was credited the win
- She struck out two batters in 3.1 innings of work
- The pitching staff combined for four Ks
Up Next
The series closer is set for tomorrow (March 29) at noon CT. The game will be broadcast live on
ESPN+.
"The goal of every weekend is to win the series and win at least two of three – we'll have a chance to do that tomorrow. We can't just keep relying on what we've done in the past, we're going to continue to look to the future and look at what we can control,"
