DeKALB, Ill. – On a breezy, cold Saturday afternoon at Mary M. Bell field, the Northern Illinois University softball team secured a come-from-behind 6-5 win over Central Michigan to open the three-game series.
"We're used to having the lead early and then just holding on, so this game kind of got flipped flopped for us," said head NIU coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "It was nice to see us just hold our pace and hold true to that. Obviously the fifth inning was huge for us, but
Lily Cassell did a great job of coming in, changing that momentum, and just putting some zeros up which gave us a chance,"
NIU 6, CMU 5
With two outs, Central Michigan (15-14, 6-3 MAC) took a 4-0 advantage in the second inning, logging four hits on NIU's (15-14, 6-3 MAC) starting pitcher
Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East).
Lily Cassell (LaGrange, Ohio/Keystone) was called in to relive Stewart, who retired the final out with a big K.
Stewart had a short memory and took her skills from the pitcher's circle to the batter's box. In the Huskies first at-bat of the bottom of the second, Stewart blasted a solo dinger over the center field fence to give NIU its first run of the ballgame.
Cassell dealt from there, garnering five more strikeouts before the Huskies had an offensive explosion in the fifth.
Ally Rodriguez (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) and
Kelly Walinski (Worth, Ill./Marist) posted back-to-back singles before
Madison Mathews (Yuma, Ariz./Cibola) drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. In the ensuing at-bat, Stewart again dug in and drilled a two RBI double right field, scoring Walinski and Rodriguez.
Sam Mallinder (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) kept the momentum going with an RBI single which scored
Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley) who pinch ran for Matthews. Then,
Delaney Ostrowski (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) followed with an RBI single to second, giving Stewart the go-ahead run.
Courtney James (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) capped the action-packed inning with a groundout RBI, helping the Huskies take a 6-4 lead.
"We executed in that fifth inning, and we were able to hit with the runners in scoring position. We just stayed calm and stuck to our plan and we were able to finally attack it,"
CMU notched an RBI triple in the top of the sixth inning to shrink NIU's advantage to one run, but the Huskie defense held strong.
With a save on the line,
Claire Norred (Tipton, Ind./Tipton) came in to pitch the top of the seventh with one out. She allowed no hits and helped the defense record the final two outs, sealing the 6-5 NIU win.
Notes
- The Huskies scored five runs off nine hits and had no errors
- The Chippewas scored six runs off 11 hits and had no errors
- Cassell (3-5) racked up eight strikeouts, the most of any Huskie in a single game this year
- Stewart added a pair as well to bring NIU's total to 10, the team's most of the season
- Norred took home her second save of 2023
- Stewart had a career-high three RBI off her two hits for extra bases
- She scored a team-high two runs
- Walinski notched a team-high three hits
- Mallinder and Rodriguez were each 2-4 at the dish
- Brianna Pechman (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago Community) swiped a career-high two bases
Up Next
The two teams will hit the field again tomorrow for a doubleheader to close the series. Start times are set for noon and 2 p.m. at Mary M. Bell Field.
"We need to continue to have good outings on the mound. If we're putting six runs up on the board, we expect to win every game. So, if our offense stays going, we think we can come out of here with at least another win and hopefully a series sweep."
