MUNCIE, Ind. – The Northern Illinois University softball team dropped its series closer 5-1 to the Ball State Cardinals Wednesday afternoon at the First Merchants Ballpark Complex in Muncie.

"We weren't able to make adjustments. We had a plan in place, and I don't think that we fully exploited them or fully executed our plan to the best of our ability," said head NIU coach Christina Sutcliffe. "So, we just need to learn from it, move forward, and continue to grow,"

BSU 5, NIU 1
In yesterday's doubleheader, Ball State won game one 2-1 but NIU rebounded for an offensively thrilling 14-10 win in game two.

It looked as if the Huskies (14-14, 5-3 MAC) were going to build off its exciting win yesterday as Caitlyn Shumaker (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine), batting leadoff, delivered a solo home run in to kick off the first inning.  

Ball State (16-13, 6-2 MAC) had other plans though as, in their turn to bat, rocketed off two home runs for five RBI on pitcher Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) to take a 5-1 advantage.

From there, the Huskie pitching staff kept the Cardinals in check. Claire Norred (Tipton, Ind./Tipton) came in to pitch for Stewart in bottom of the fourth and allowed zero Ball State hits through the remainder of the contest.

"Claire [Norred] was able to throw well when she struggled a little bit with the zone yesterday. I think that shows her tenacity and how she's recrafting herself from day to day. So, to be able to do that was great. She's had a great year so far, so we trust her to get the job done,"

The NIU offense however struggled to find a spark after Shumaker's dinger in the first. The Huskies collected four more hits, but couldn't find home plate to cut into its four-run deficit.

With two outs on the board in the seventh inning, Kiley Conner (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) doubled to center field to put herself in scoring position, but a groundout in the ensuing at-bat ended the game.

Notes

• NIU scored one run off five hits and had no errors
• Ball State scored five runs off six hits and had no errors
• Conner led in the batter's box going 2-3
• Shumaker was 1-3 with one RBI
• Ally Rodriguez (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) was 1-2
• Cara Cruthers (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) was also 1-2
• Courtney James (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) had a team-high three putouts
• Kelly Walinski (Worth, Ill./Marist) had a team-high three assists

Up Next
The Huskies return home this weekend (April 1-2) for a three-game series with Central Michigan (12-16, 2-3 MAC) at Mary M. Bell Field. A doubleheader will kick off the action Saturday. Game one is set for 1 p.m. while game two will start at/around 3 p.m.  On Sunday, a single game will be played at noon to close the series.

"I think we need to go back to being our team. I think we got away from that just a little bit this week with Ball State. We need to go back to basics with hitting and figure out how to make a couple of adjustments that will help us to continue to attack early often,"

NIU softball will be celebrating "Community Day" during this Saturday's games. The special day aims to celebrate and shine a light on the fantastic local businesses that call DeKalb and the surrounding area home. If you own or operate a small business and are interested in participating, please reach out to assistant coach Mickey Bell by email at mbell2@niu.edu.