Softball drops home finale
NIU pitcher Allyson Hecht returns to the mound as Northwestern first baseman Adrienne Monka rounds third following her first of two home runs. Monka was 3-for-3 with 5 RBIs in the Cats’ victory over the Huskies.
April 25, 2012
In its final game at Mary M. Bell Field this season, NIU softball lost its sixth game in a row at the hands of Northwestern 12-3.
“The team is fine,” said NIU coach Lindsay Chouinard. “I thought they came out good today. They were positive, had a good approach, and things just didn’t turn out how we wanted.”
The Huskies (18-29, 6-10 MAC) gave up 13 hits to the Wildcats (19-25) and allowed them to score in every inning except for the third.
Northwestern came out in the first and put up two quick runs when Amanda Sheppard made an error at shortstop, allowing Mari Majam to score from third and Marisa Bast to score from second, givng the team a 2-0 lead.
NIU responded in the first with a run of its own on a two-out double to right center from Shelby Miller, scoring Dani Parrish from first, making the score 2-1.
“I think we did a good job responding,” Chouinard said. “If we play good defense in that first inning and we make that play, it’s a whole different game. We’re leading after two innings.”
The Wildcats were back at it in the second, when with the bases loaded, Bast singled to left field driving in Kristin Scharkey from third and Emily Allard from second, increasing their lead to 4-1.
“It was something we talked about prior to the game,” said Northwestern coach Kate Drohan. “We really wanted to come out and put at least one or two runs on the board and take command.”
In the third, NIU put up two runs when Nicole Gremillion scored from third on a passed ball and Jennifer Barnett later singled up the middle, scoring Stephanie Tofft from second base, making the score 4-3 Wildcats.
That was the last time the Huskies would score and in the fifth inning. Jenny Tyler went in to pitch for the Wildcats and shut down the Huskies, giving up two hits while recording two strikeouts in three innings, earning her first save.
From that point on, it was all Northwestern, as it hit three home runs. One came from Anna Edwards in the fifth and two came from Adrienne Monka, one in the sixth and the other in the seventh. Monka went 2-3 on the day with five RBIs.
