VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Northern Illinois University softball team claimed both ends of a doubleheader at Valparaiso on Wednesday afternoon (April 24), topping the Beacons, 5-2, in game one before winning the nightcap, 8-0, in six innings. Trinity Jones Estrada (Sylmar, Calif./John F. Kennedy) had two hits in both games while Caitlyn Shumaker (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) recorded a three-run home run in the second game and four RBIs total in the sweep. 

The NIU pitching staff combined to allow just 10 hits over the two games while striking out 16. Emily Dato (Munster, Ind./Munster) threw all six innings in the second contest, allowing six hits and striking out five while recording the shutout. 

"It is nice to see all three parts of our game show up for two games in a row," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. "We have struggled to do that in back-to-back games, so to do that late in the season is good to see and its great preparation going into Bowling Green.

"(Danielle Stewart) and Claire (Norred) had a combined no-hitter into the fifth and (Emily) Dato did a great job throwing a complete game. They did a nice job keeping Valpo off-balance and mixing the zones. (Danielle Stewart) and Claire (Norred) are completely different pitchers, so that helps give opponents a different look and (Emily) Dato did a great job settling in. She got in trouble a couple of times, but we made some good defensive plays behind her."

Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) and Claire Norred (Tipton, Ind./Tipton) combined to strike out 11 and allow just four hits as the Huskies took game one, 5-2. Stewart had six strikeouts in three innings, allowing no hits, before Norred came on and scattered four hits in four innings with five strikeouts, allowing two runs, just one of which was earned. 

NIU opened the scoring in the top of the third as Jenna Turner (Marengo, Ill./Marengo) led off with a single and was driven home three batters later courtesy of a single up the middle by Shumaker.

Four straight walks to open the fifth helped the Huskies plate three more runs without a hit in the frame as NIU opened a 4-0 lead. 

Valparaiso's first hit of the contest didn't come until the bottom of the fifth with two outs when Natalie Bush singled to break up the Huskie no-hit bid. 

In the top of the seventh, Ellis Erickson (Lutz, Fla./Freedom) added a fifth run to the board for NIU with a two-out, RBI single. The Beacons ended the shutout with two runs in the bottom of the inning as NIU took game one, 5-2. 

Shumaker gave the Huskies an early lead in game two with a three-run home run to right center in the first inning. Stewart had walked and Madison Mathews (Yuma, Ariz./Cibola) reached on a fielder's choice before Shumaker's sixth home run of the season gave NIU a 3-0 advantage. 

NIU added a run in both the second and third. Erickson drove in the fourth Huskie run of the contest in the second inning before Jones Estrada's RBI single brought home Mathews in the third to give the visitors a five-run lead. 

The Huskies plated a sixth run in the fifth as a two-out RBI single up the middle from Alana Powell (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood Academy) scored Avery Carnahan (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston). 

Erickson led off the sixth with a single and Mathews hit her fifth home run of the season to give the Huskies an 8-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Valparaiso got a leadoff single before Dato recorded her fifth strikeout of the contest and induced a game-ending double play to complete the sweep for the Huskies. 

"(Caitlyn Shumaker) hitting the home run early in the second game, it put a stamp on the game," said Sutcliffe. "We have struggled coming back in game two, so instantly getting that momentum and keeping it the rest of the day was great."

NIU will be back on the road this weekend as the Huskies travel to Bowling Green for a three-game conference series which begins with a single game on Friday, April 26. The first pitch is slated for 2 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+.