WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.—Five Huskies recorded hits in a pair of games as the Northern Illinois University (5-6) softball team took on St. Bonaventure (0-21) and Purdue (16-6) at the Boilermaker Spring Classic. NIU defeated St. Bonaventure 13-2 in five innings before falling to the hosts 5-2.
 
Izzi Hanna (Granger, Ind./Penn) went 3-for-3 at the plate with one run and an RBI against St. Bonaventure. Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East). Katy Ramage (Germantown Hills, Ill./Metamora Township), and Rylie Hartman (Herscher, Ill./Kankakee) all recorded two hits as the four Huskies combined has nine of the 15 hits in the game.
 
Madison Carlson (South Beloit, Ill./South Beloit) went 4.1 innings and recorded a career-best six strikeouts in the contest against St. Bonaventure.
 
Jenna Turner (Marengo, Ill./Marengo) led the Huskies in the second game, going 2-of-4 at the plate. Turner and Stewart were the only Huskies to score in both games.
 
"We continue to learn and grow as a team," said NIU head coach Kathryn Gleason. "We bounced back today in the win against St. Bonaventure. Maddy Carlson did a great job on the mound setting the tone and then coming in to close the game. We took that momentum into game two to jump on the Boilers early. Purdue's a very good disciplined team with a tough lineup. We get better each game in all three facets of the game, and we will take that into tomorrow against Green Bay."
 
St. Bonaventure Recap (NIU 13, St. Bonaventure 2)
 
The Huskies opened the game with three straight hits from Turner, Hanna, and Stewart. Turner scored on Stewart's RBI single, and moments later Stewart stole her first base of the season as Hanna came home to make it 2–0. Mia Morera (Simi Valley, Calif./Westlake) added the fourth hit of the inning and later stole second, setting up Stewart to score on a fielder's choice. Morera crossed the plate on the next play, capping a four-run first inning for NIU.
 
Stewart recorded her fifth multi-hit game of the season as she led the Huskies off with a single to start the third inning. An RBI triple courtesy of Ramage sent Stewart across for the fifth run of the game. Ramage followed in the next play on a sacrifice fly from Morera. NIU had back-to-back hits before a double from Ally Rodriguez (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) hit a 2 RBI double to send runners home. Turner reached base via walk before recording the first of two stolen bases in the inning. An RBI single by Hanna sent Rodriguez across the plate as Turner stole home for the tenth run of the game in the next play.
 
Leading off the fourth inning, Ramage sent the ball to right field before reaching third on a double from Hartman. Ramage scored on a sacrifice fly before an RBI single from Kayla Estrada (Riverside, Calif./Martin Luther) sent Hartman across for the twelfth run of the game.
 
A Jamie Saran (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) RBI double sent Ava Falcone (Elk Grove Village, Ill./James B. Contant) across the plate for the final time in the game.
 
St. Bonaventure scored their first run in the fourth inning before adding their second and final in the fifth inning.  
 
Purdue Recap (NIU 2, Purdue 5)
 
Turner led the Huskies off with her third double of the season before being brought home on Ramage's RBI single to left field as NIU took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of play. This was Turner's fourth multi-hit game this season.
 
Purdue answered with an RBI groundout in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at one. Turner added her second hit, as she went 2-of-4 on the day, in the second inning with a single to shortstop. Turner and the Huskies left two runners stranded in the inning as the defense held Purdue in the bottom half.
 
Stewart led the third inning off with a single to shortstop and was able to advance on a defensive error by Purdue. A pair of groundouts moved Stewart to third base before an Estrada RBI double sent Stewart across for the second run of the game.
 
Purdue hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the third as they took a 4-1 lead over the Huskies, recording five hits in the inning. The final Boilermaker run came in the fifth inning on an RBI single.
 
Hanna recorded the final Huskie hit in the fifth inning, a single to left field.
 
Lily Cassell (La Grange, Ohio/Keystone) went all six innings in the game, recording three strikeouts and issuing four walks.
 
The Huskies conclude action at the Boilermaker Spring Classic on Monday, March 9. NIU will face future Horizon League opponent Green Bay with first pitch scheduled for 10 a.m. CT.
 
Never miss a minute of Huskie Softball. Follow NIU Softball by visiting @NIUSoftball on Twitter/X, NIU Softball on Facebook, and @NIU_Softball on Instagram.