DeKALB, Ill.—Splitting the day, the Northern Illinois University Huskies battled against the Minutewomen of UMass in a doubleheader. The Huskies (11-10, 5-4 MAC) fell in the first game, 11-2 (5 innings) before taking the second game over the Minutewomen (9-19, 2-7 MAC), 5-4.
 
With the win in game two of the doubleheader, the Huskies take the series, 2-1.
 
Jenna Turner (Marengo, Ill./Marengo) had back-to-back multi-hit games today, recording a total of four hits.
 
Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) and Katy Ramage (Germantown Hills, Ill./Metamora Township) also recorded hits in both games.
 
"We didn't start the day off very well. I thought we stayed in the game and fought back but things weren't going our way or we weren't making them go our way. But I'm glad of the way we responded in the second game," said NIU head coach Kathryn Gleason. "We gave up two runs in the first inning and came back with four. Lily holding them down and Maddy coming into close. Ava Falcone came in and did a great job for us. Sometimes that gives a spark to the team."
 
Game One Recap (UMass 11, NIU 2, 5 Innings)
 
UMass struck first, plating two runs on one hit across the opening two innings as NIU struggled to find its rhythm at the plate. The Minutewomen broke the game open in the third, erupting for eight runs on four hits and capitalizing on two Huskie errors to take a commanding 10–0 lead.
 
Turner delivered NIU's first hit of the afternoon in the bottom of the third with a single down the left-field line, but she was left stranded.
 
UMass added its final run in the fourth, scoring on a wild pitch.
 
A single from Turner in the fifth inning brought home Ava Falcone (Elk Grove Village, Ill./James B. Conant) for the Huskies' first run, and a base hit from Stewart drove in the final run of the game. Despite the push, NIU dropped the first game of the day in five innings
 
Game Two Recap (UMass 4, NIU 5)
 
UMass struck first in the second game, scoring two runs on one hit in the first inning.
 
Turner and Lia Nance (Oceanside, Calif./Oceanside) were both issued walks in the bottom half of the inning. Stewart hit her eighth double of the season to send the tying run across the plate. In a 2-1 count, Kayla Estrada (Riverside, Calif./Martin Luther King) hit her second home run of the season as the Huskies took a 4-2 lead.
 
In the circle, Lily Cassell (LaGrange, Ohio/Keystone) collected a pair of strikeouts in the second inning.
 
The Minutewomen tied the game in the top of the third inning of play, scoring two runs off three hits.
 
After a leadoff triple from Turner in the fifth, Stewart got a base hit to send her teammate across the plate for the winning run.
 
Madison Carlson (South Beloit, Ill./South Beloit) added a pair of strikeouts in the final two innings as the Huskies took the series.
 
NIU returns to Mary M. Bell Field on Tuesday, March 31 for a doubleheader against UIC. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
 
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