DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University softball team's seventh inning comeback against Western Michigan fell short Tuesday afternoon at Mary M. Bell Field. The Huskies were edged 7-6 to open the three-game series.
"We just didn't do a good enough job with runners in scoring position," said head NIU coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "Every single inning, we had runners in scoring position. So, there shouldn't be a zero in any column on our side of the scoreboard. But unfortunately, we just didn't have the timely hit when we needed it,"
NIU 7, WMU 6
After a scoreless first two innings, WMU recorded its first run of the ballgame in the top of the third with an RBI double on starting Huskie pitcher
Emily Dato (Munster, Ind./Munster).
NIU had a brief advantage in the bottom of the third when
Kelly Walinski (Worth, Ill./Marist) grounded out to second base, but speedy
Caitlyn Shumaker (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) raced home from her position on third to give the Huskies their first run.
Sam Mallinder (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) delivered an RBI single to left field in the ensuing at-bat, scoring
Courtney James (Fishers, Ind./Fishers), making the score 2-1, NIU.
Western Michigan lit it up for four runs in the fourth frame, putting the Huskies in a 5-2 hole.
Shumaker cut into the deficit after she notched a groundout RBI to score
Cara Cruthers (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) in the bottom of the fourth, but the Broncos put up two more runs in the fifth to go up 7-3.
The Huskies sparked a last second comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning;
Ellis Erickson (Lutz, Fla./Freedom) scored Walinski on her RBI single before
Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) drove in two more runs with her single to right field.
Down just one run and with two outs on the board, WMU pitcher Rissa Bajusz recorded her fifth strikeout of the day to end the game.
Notes
- NIU scored six runs off 10 hits and had three errors
- WMU scored seven runs off seven hits and had one error
- Eight Huskies notched a hit in the loss as NIU out-hit WMU
- Mallinder and Ally Rodriguez (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) had two hits apiece to lead NIU
- Dato (4-2) was pinned with the loss
- NIU left nine runners on base
Up Next
The Huskies and Broncos will play a doubleheader tomorrow with start times of 1/3 p.m. at Mary M. Bell Field to close the series.
"I think if we just play solid defense in that fourth inning, we're going home with a win by several runs. So, we just have to figure out how to play clean ball for seven innings."
