DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University softball team lost both ends of its doubleheader versus Central Michigan by scores of 5-3 and 13-2 Sunday at Mary M. Bell Field.
"That first game was tough. We had several opportunities to win it and didn't," said head NIU coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "Unfortunately, that's a tough one to have. I told them after the second one, 'this is exactly why we need to win the games that we can',"
Game One | CMU 5, NIU 3
In a game that took nine innings to decide a winner, the Chippewas emerged victorious after a tense and lengthy pitcher's duel.
CMU struck first in the third inning with an RBI single and an advancement to home plate, giving the Chippewas a 2-0 lead.
NIU knotted the contest 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning when
Sam Mallinder (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) knocked a two RBI double down the right field line, scoring
Kiley Conner (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) and
Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East).
From there, the Huskie pitching staff kept CMU in check. NIU had an opportunity to win the game in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh with the bases juiced and two outs on the board.
Central Michigan's pitcher Grace Lehto however dealt the final out via strikeout to end the inning, signaling extras.
The Chippewas plated three runs off two hits in the top of the ninth to swing momentum their way. In NIU's last chance to tie or take the lead,
Ellis Erickson (Lutz, Fla./Freedom) singled and
Courtney James (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) batted her home with a double to left center, but that would be the only run to cross home plate for NIU as CMU held on to win it 5-3.
Notes
- The Huskies scored three runs off nine hits and had one error
- CMU scored five runs off 11 hits and had one error
- Mallinder led at the dish going 2-4 with two RBI
- Kelly Walinski (Worth, Ill./Marist) was 2-5 and had a stolen base
- James was 2-4 with one RBI
Game Two | CMU 13, NIU 2
After going nine innings in game one, game two was cut short after five due to a run-rule. CMU started its barrage of offense in the first and second inning, plating four runs before Mallinder sent a solo bomb over the left field fence to make the score 4-1 after two frames.
Central Michigan kept its bats hot, scoring three runs in the third inning and six more in the fourth to take a 13-1 advantage.
Izzy Smith (Elmhurst, Ill./York), appearing in her first series of the season after injury, put one more run on the board for NIU after her sacrifice fly out gave James the green light to race home.
In the end though, the Huskies fell 13-2.
"That last game got out of control a little bit, but tip your hat to Central Michigan, they came out today ready to go and they were better than us,"
Notes
- The Huskies scored two runs off four hits and had one error
- CMU scored 13 runs off 16 hits and had no errors
- James was a perfect 2-2 in the batter's box and swiped one bag
- Mallinder was 1-2 with one RBI
- Trinity Jones Estrada (Sylmar, Calif./John F. Kennedy) was 1-2 at the dish
Up Next
NIU will travel to Kent State next weekend (April 7-8). The three-game series will start Friday at 2 p.m. CT. On Saturday, the action will close with a doubleheader. Start times are locked for noon and 2 p.m. CT.
"We know we're better than what we showed today. I think it's just staying true to that, but figuring out how do we get that team to show up on a daily basis from game to game? We just need to keep rolling, learn from it, and move on. There were a couple of things in that last game that we actually got better at that we haven't seen yet. So, when you can still get better in a run-rule game, you've got the right group together."
