DeKALB, Ill.—Dropping the series opener, the Northern Illinois University Huskies softball team (17-25, 11-10 MAC) fell to the University of Akron Zips (24-21, 11-7 MAC) in Friday afternoon's (April 25) game, 5-2.
 
Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) retired eight straight batters from the Zips side as she pitched six innings in the loss.
 
Each team recorded seven hits in the contest and a singular error.
 
"We didn't make adjustments when we needed to. We'll talk about the things tonight and be better for tomorrow," said NIU head coach Kathryn Gleason.
 
For the second straight game, Stewart led off with an RBI double as she sent Lia Nance (Oceanside, Calif./Oceanside) across the plate for NIU. Stewart would be left stranded on the bases as the Zips defense collected the final two outs of the first inning.
 
Tess Meyer (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) was credited with a single in the second inning before Madison Mathews (Yuma, Ariz./Cibola) marked her second straight game with a hit in the fourth.
 
Alana Powell (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood Academy) sent the ball to right field as she recorded her first home run of the season to put the Huskies up 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Akron was able to get their offense to click in the sixth inning, scoring three runs off four hits as they took a 3-2 lead over NIU. The Zips added two more runs in the seventh inning as they handed the Huskies their third straight loss.
 
NIU and Akron will complete the three-game series with a doubleheader on April 26. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Mary M. Bell Field. NIU Softball will honor their seniors at approximately 12:30 p.m. CT prior to first pitch.