NIU softball stole nine bases and struck out as many batters en route to splitting the second day of the South Alabama Invitational on Saturday in Mobile, Alabama.
The Huskies (3-6) upended the University of Alabama at Birmingham (3-4) 5-1 in the morning game before succumbing to tournament host University of South Alabama (6-2) 8-4 later that evening.
“Definitely a turnaround from yesterday (Friday),” said NIU softball head coach Christina Sutcliffe. “We had a good bounce-back day. Came out strong in both games; got some good performances out of our pitching staff; and attacked pretty early in the games as well.”
GAME 1: NIU 5, UAB 1
Sophomore pitcher/utility Danielle “Dee Dee” Stewart made her fourth start of the season in the circle against UAB. Stewart struck out a season-high eight batters, one shy of her single-game best, and allowed five hits.
“I think I came out strong,” Stewart said. “My spin was tight, and (I) was hitting my shots well, and I was trusting my defense.”
Stewart’s efforts at the mound were aided by those of senior infielder Caitlyn Shumaker. The beneficiary of two UAB fielding errors, Shumaker scored the game’s first two runs before adding an RBI.
Scoring picked up in the sixth inning once Blazer junior infielder Lauren Brock made it home for UAB’s first run of the day. NIU responded with runs by three consecutive batters – senior catcher/outfielder Ellis Erickson, freshman outfielder Katy Ramage and Stewart.
“We rely on our speed,” Sutcliffe said. “We had a couple people crossing bases in both games today, as it was the reason we scored a lot of our runs today was, honestly, getting our runners in motion.”
GAME 2: SOUTH ALABAMA 8, NIU 4
The Huskies made their presence known early in their bout with South Alabama, shooting off to a three-run lead in the top of the first inning.
Unfortunately for NIU, that lead would dissipate as quickly as it came. By the end of the second inning, the Jaguars had crossed home thrice to tie the contest at 3-all.
“I think we set the tone with our speed and got some timely hits early on, and then their freshman pitcher (Cadence Williams) settled in on us,” Sutcliffe said.
NIU broke away with a run in the top fourth inning before South Alabama climbed back even with one of their own in the bottom half. Both sides remained deadlocked at 4-4 until Jaguars slipped away in the sixth inning. South Alabama sophomore outfielder/utility Brooklynn Bockhaus scored the go-ahead run, chased by three Jaguar insurance runs as the game’s final scores.
Stewart had entered the game in relief of senior pitcher Emily Dato before the Jaguars’ pop-off inning.
“That team’s good, and they got the best of me,” Stewart said of South Alabama. “They were just hitting better and beating me to my pitches, so they won that battle.”
MAC FOE? NO MATTER
Next on its schedule, NIU is slated to battle MAC foe Central Michigan University for the final day of the tournament. Though CMU is a league rival, the Huskies don’t plan to give the Chippewas any preferential treatment.
“We’re just trying to compete, no matter who is across the dugout,” Sutcliffe said. “It’s a MAC team, but it’s not necessarily MAC play, so we’re just looking at another preseason opponent that we’re trying to continue to grow and learn from.”
NIU will square off with Central Michigan at 9 a.m. CT Sunday at Jaguar Field in Mobile, Alabama. Live stats will be available via Stat Broadcast.
