DeKALB — A drought that lasted nearly nine years came to an emphatic end Sunday afternoon, as NIU completed a three-game weekend sweep of Mid-American Conference foe Kent State at Mary M. Bell Field.
Before Sunday, the Huskies had not swept back-to-back series since April 29, 2017. But after achieving a midweek sweep of Ball State, they carried that momentum into the weekend — winning all three games against the Golden Flashes.
NIU (18-11, 12-5 MAC) took both games of Saturday’s doubleheader before dominating Kent State (17-22, 7-11 MAC) 10-4 on Sunday to secure its second straight series sweep and sixth consecutive victory.
The Huskies piled up 10 runs on 12 hits in just four innings, marking one of their most productive offensive outings this season.
“They just trust themselves, and they trust the plan, and they know the plan is to pass the bat to each other,” head coach Kathryn Gleason said of the offense. “When they see their teammates getting success, then they know they can just trust the plan and do what they can.”
Freshman left fielder Izzi Hanna led NIU’s hitting frenzy with one of the most complete performances of her young college career. Hanna finished 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs while scoring twice.
“I was just hunting that outside pitch and just trying to drive through that left side,” Hanna said, “and I just made some good contact today and ran it out.”
Meanwhile, Lily Cassell made her eighth start in the circle, earning her second win of the season to improve to 2-5. The senior tossed five innings and allowed three runs on five hits while striking out four.
Cassell’s day got off to a bumpy start in the top of the first, as she gave up a hit and walked two of the next three batters to load the bases early. However, the starter quickly settled in and recorded back-to-back strikeouts to escape the jam unscathed.
From there, NIU’s offense got to work.
Jenna Turner and Hanna each singled, and Stewart drew a full-count walk to load the bases with no outs. Kayla Estrada followed with a walk to force in the game’s first run, and Mia Morera hit a sacrifice fly to score Hanna and make it 2-0. Alana Powell then reached on a fielder’s choice that brought Stewart home, extending the lead to 3-0.
Kent State got on the board in the second with the first of two runs from designated player Ciara Camacho. The Huskies promptly responded with a four-hit, four-run inning to stretch the lead to 7-1.
Katy Ramage doubled on the first pitch she saw, and Lia Nance reached on a fielding error before Turner advanced both runners with a groundout. Hanna then hammered a triple into left field, plating two more runs. Estrada and Morera followed with back-to-back RBI doubles to cap the inning.
“I knew she was throwing first-pitch strikes every time I got in there,” Morera said of Kent State starter Riley Miller, who went the distance while allowing 10 runs off 12 hits, “so (I was) just capitalizing on that first pitch outside.”
After Cassell retired the side in the third inning, NIU added another run to push its lead to 8-2. Rylie Hartman singled and Ramage doubled to put both runners in scoring position, and Hanna delivered a two-out single to bring home Hartman.
The teams traded pairs of runs in the fourth inning, starting with Camacho’s solo home run to center field for the Golden Flashes. Brooke Aberle followed with a single before Aaralyn Nogay tripled to drive her in. In the bottom of the frame, Estrada singled and Morera doubled to score pinch runner Mallory Wollenmann. Hartman poured in another double to score Morera and put NIU back up by seven, 10-3.
The Huskies’ offense tapered off from there, failing to notch a hit the rest of the way. Cassell pitched through the fifth inning before she was relieved by Madison Carlson, the team’s top pitcher. Carlson tossed the final two innings, surrendering one hit and one run in the sixth, to close out a 10-4 victory.
‘ONE STEP AT A TIME’
NIU remains in second place in the Mid-American Conference standings, sitting 2.5 games behind first-place Akron (23-19, 15-3 MAC) and just a half-game ahead of Miami (30-12, 12-6 MAC). The top two teams in the final conference standings will earn first-round byes in the MAC tournament, hosted by Akron from May 6 to May 9 at Firestone Stadium.
As the Huskies push for their second-straight appearance in the tournament — and what would be their last — Gleason said she’s making sure her players don’t think too far ahead with 13 games left in the regular season.
“I tell them, ‘we’re not looking at any standings; we’re not thinking about anything. One step at a time,’” Gleason said. “There’s a lot of MAC games left, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
NIU will remain home as it hosts in-state foe Bradley for a Tuesday doubleheader, with the first game scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.
