DeKALB — The softball team lost its series against the Ohio Bobcats 1-2 Friday and Saturday to move to 2-3 in Mid-American Conference play.

Friday Game One – Ohio 11, NIU 3

The Huskies opened the scoring for the series in the top of the first inning. After reaching first base on a hit by a pitch, junior infielder Anne Allen came home off a first-year outfielder Katie Keller RBI double.

First-year infielder Bianca Barone smacked an RBI single up the middle of the field to bring color in, giving NIU a 2-0 advantage.

Ohio found its offensive groove early and often. The Bobcats scored nine runs on eight hits in the first and second innings combined.

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Ohio scored at least one run in the first four innings.

The Huskies scored another run in the fourth, but Ohio took an 11-3 run-rule victory after the fifth inning.

Friday Game Two – NIU 5, Ohio 4

NIU won the second game of the series in come-from-behind fashion.

The Huskies didn’t score a run in the first four innings of the contest. The Bobcats scored three runs in the bottom of the second off an Ohio senior outfielder MacKenzie Brunswick 3-RBI double. Ohio added another run in the third to take a 4-0 advantage.

NIU buckled down defensively for the remainder of the contest. The Huskies allowed one run in the final four innings and used clutch hitting from senior outfielder Jenny Van Geertry and senior infielder Sam Schmidt to take the victory.

With junior outfielder Kayla Scaperrotta on third, Van Geertry knocked a home run over the left field fence to bring in Scaperrotta and reduce Ohio’s lead to 4-2.

In the top of the sixth, Barone reached first on an infielder error, and senior outfielder Jessica Rio pinch-ran for her. Rio advanced to second after sophomore catcher Kira Mickelson was hit by a pitch.

Mickelson and Rio each advanced one base before Schmidt smacked a home run to left field, giving the Huskies a 5-4 lead and eventual victory.

“[Van Geerty] and [Schmidt] came up very clutch in the second game and provided the offense we needed,” Head Coach Christina Sutcliffe said to NIU Athletics. “[Sophomore pitcher Mackenzie Bryan] did a great job making a huge pitch when we needed her to and [got] us off the field.”

Bryan struck out six batters in the victory.

Saturday – Ohio 8, NIU 4

The Bobcats’ high-scoring fifth inning gave them the victory in the final game of the series.

Ohio scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first to take an early advantage. The Bobcats added another run in the fourth to make their lead 2-0.

The Huskies scored two runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 2, but Ohio scored five in the bottom of the fifth to take a 7-2 advantage.

NIU mustered up two more runs in the top of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough, as Ohio took an 8-4 victory to close out the series.

“Today’s game was a tough loss,” Sutcliffe said. “Our hitters did a great job making adjustments. We just couldn’t get the ball to fall our way. [Bryan] did a really nice job for us in the circle this weekend.”