Through rain, mud and injuries, the NIU softball team (11-12) has continued with strong efforts in every outing. Thursday’s encounter against Indiana State was no exception.

For an injury-prone team, the Huskies used every bit of their resources to handle the Sycamores in the doubleheader.

In game one, junior Ree Zenner’s bases-loaded triple and ensuing score on a Sycamore throwing error gave the Huskies a 4-0 first-inning lead and an eventual 5-0 win.

NIU was lead by sophomore pitcher Rachel Ortiz, who struck out four and at one point, retired 13 hitters in a row.

Game two saw the Huskies suffer yet another key injury as Zenner twisted her knee in the first inning.

NIU struggled offensively, but was able to pull out a 2-1 win behind a fine pitching performance by Kim Compton. The freshman struck out three and retired 10 in a row at one point.

Senior Julie Sexton’s fifth-inning RBI double provided the margin of victory. NIU coach Dee Abrahamson had praise for her team’s performance against ISU. The Sycamores fell for the fifth time in five meetings with NIU this season.

“I’m proud of them,” Abrahamson said. “Both (pitchers) did a good job, and I give credit to the battery in both games.

“(The catchers) did a good job calling the game, and we had a lot of hard hits. It’s good that we were able to win at home. We need to overcome whatever obstacle it is … weather, field conditions or injury,” added Abrahamson.