It’s the bottom of the seventh inning in a 4-4 ball game. The NIU softball team, who sat at a 4-0 deficit after two innings, battled back for the chance of a walk-off win.

The 1-0 pitch leaves the right hand of College of the Holy Cross senior pitcher/utility Megan Yurchick. Waiting for it at the plate is NIU freshman outfielder Katy Ramage, whose swing holds the potential to grant the Huskies their first win of the weekend.

“I was really locked in and focused on trying to just see the ball,” Ramage said.

Atypical to the usual walk-off fashion, Ramage didn’t blast the ball past the boundaries of Grizzly Softball Field. A simple bunt did the trick as senior infielder Caitlyn Shumaker dashed to the safety of home to complete the Huskies’ comeback.

NIU (5-13) defeated Holy Cross (4-9) 5-4 Saturday to open the third day of the Montana Softball Classic in Missoula, Montana.

“That’s definitely something we wanted to see or needed to see out here,” said NIU softball head coach Christina Sutcliffe. “We let a couple go late in the inning, so to be able to pull one out and win in that fashion definitely speaks volumes for them.”

The Huskies maintained winner status until they suffered a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the University of Montana (10-15).

“We definitely came out better today (Saturday) than we were yesterday (Friday) for sure,” Sutcliffe said. “It was nice to see some improvements, have some more intensity.”

GAME 1: NIU 5, HOLY CROSS 4

Down 4-0 by the end of the second inning, NIU scored five unanswered runs. Junior middle infielder/outfielder Avery Carnahan started NIU’s scoring with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to send Ramage home.

The Huskies added two more runs in the sixth inning to trim their deficit to 4-3. Senior outfielder Courtney James doubled to right field to bat in Ramage’s second run of the day. Junior second baseman/outfielder Kacie Quick then used a sacrifice fly to score Carnahan.

Senior catcher/outfielder Ellis Erickson brought NIU even with Montana with an RBI double, which simultaneously set up Ramage for her winning bunt.

GAME 2: MONTANA 6, NIU 3

In Saturday’s afternoon game, sophomore pitcher Lily Cassell made her second start of the season at the mound. NIU flipped the script from the game before, shooting out to a 3-0 advantage by the end of the fourth inning. NIU maintained the lead and a shutout until the Grizzlies propelled themselves into the frontrunner spot with a six-run fifth inning.

Montana junior outfielder Presley Jantzi sparked the Grizzly scoring streak with an RBI single to second base that allowed sophomore infielder Chloe Saxton to score. In the very next at-bat, senior infielder Kelly Sweyer blasted a three-run home run into left center to put Montana in front, 4-3. 

NIU senior pitcher Emily Dato replaced Cassell in the pitcher’s circle after the latter gave up another home run. Cassell finished the game with 3 strikeouts while allowing 8 hits and 6 runs. Dato surrendered one more run before getting the Huskies out of the inning with a 6-3 deficit. Each side recorded just one more hit to end the game.

THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM?

With NIU still winless (0-2) against Montana this season, the Huskies will face the Grizzlies once more to close out the weekend.

“We’ve already seen them (Montana) in two other games and we’ve seen the same pitchers,” Shumaker said. “Just being able to get on top of those pitches, and get on them fast, and being able to consistently put runs up on the board will be the key to winning those games tomorrow.”

First pitch is scheduled for noon CT Sunday at Grizzly Softball Field in Missoula, Montana. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Live statistics will be accessible on StatBroadcast.