Led by three hits each from Kara Apato, Katie Keller and Avery Carnahan, the Northern Illinois University softball team defeated Big Ten opponent Indiana University 14-3 in five innings in the first game of the second day at the Florida Atlantic University Tournament Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies split the day, suffering a close 4-3 setback against the host FAU Owls in the nightcap, but set the tone for a solid day in Game 1 as they earned their first win over a Big Ten opponent since the 2014 season.
"We went into the game with a very large and detailed scouting report and a game plan against them, and were able to execute it," Huskies head coach Christina Sutcliffe said. "The players recommitted to the energy they were going to provide and absolutely maximized on it."
NIU shelled out 13 hits, including a three-run triple each from Keller and Carnahan. Sam Mallinder also belted a solo home run in the fifth and the Huskies held IU to only two extra base hits, three total, in the five-inning affair.
"Every time we scored (Indiana) seemed to respond and get one or two themselves so we knew we needed to continue to keep scoring," Sutcliffe said. "Anytime you can score every inning and do it with multiple runs each inning you're doing something right. Those were three huge hits for us but obviously we needed runners on to make them hurt as much as they did so honestly we were strong in the clutch all day today."
NIU tagged Indiana for three runs in the first and single tallies in the third, fourth and fifth, but their eight-run outburst – which saw the Huskies connect for five hits – all but put the game away.
In Game 2, the Huskies overcame deficits of 1-0 and 2-1, but gave up two runs in the sixth inning that proved to be costly. NIU broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth when Mackenzie Mahy reached on a fielder's choice and scored on Maddie Mackey's RBI double down the right field line, but FAU responded with two on an error and a RBI single.
"It's hard to lose a game like this that late in the game, but as I told the team after 'when they punch, we punch back'," Sutcliffe said. "They just unfortunately had one left in the sixth that we couldn't respond to after a couple of mishaps. But we fought, hung with them and were close to getting it done so if we're going to lose we're going to lose by playing our best and I think we did that today."
Keller and Mackey led the offense with a double each and finished with a pair of hits to lead the offense. Claire Norred suffered the loss in the circle as she tossed four innings and struck two batters.
NIU (1-3) concludes the FAU Tournament tomorrow morning with an 8:30 am contest with Indiana University.
"It's definitely a quick turnaround and our legs are going to be tired but so are theirs," Sutcliffe said. "It's the first weekend out for both of us, but hopefully the adrenaline will keep us going because we get to go back inside and practice when we get back. So we're just going to enjoy every moment and see what we can do tomorrow."
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