Stephanie Tofft ended her school record-breaking hitting streak at 36 games as NIU softball fell at DePaul Wednesday afternoon, 9-1 in five innings.

Tofft was 0-for-3 at the plate, ending a historic streak that began March 4 in the first game of the Colorado State Classic. The freshman was just eight games shy of the NCAA Division I record. The DI record will remain at 43 for now after being set by Sara Graziano of Coastal Carolina from April 8, 1993-March 24, 1994.

“It’s incredible,” Huskie head coach Lindsay Chouinard said of Tofft’s achievement. “It’s an amazing streak and one that’s in the NCAA record books and one that will stand for a long time at NIU. Steph’s a wonderful player and has three more years to make her mark.”

With the win, the Blue Demons (35-11) extended their winning streak to 15 games.

“We clearly didn’t play well,” Chouinard said. “When you give any team, let alone DePaul, a championship team, seven unearned runs, you’re going to have a hard time winning the game.”

The loss puts NIU below .500 to 23-24 overall, while maintaining a 10-6 record in the MAC. Western Michigan (12-4 MAC) sprung to the top of the MAC West after taking two from NIU over the weekend.

The Huskies experienced a shaky first inning, allowing four Blue Demons to cross the plate. Pitcher Morgan Bittner was taken out of the game after facing just nine batters, while walking four and throwing a wild pitch, her 15th on the year.

“At that point in time they were up four runs, and they already hit through the lineup,” said Chouinard of why Bittner exited so early.

NIU defense held DePaul scoreless until the third inning before pitcher Tofft allowed a single to score Samantha Feld from third base.

NIU struck its only run in the top of the third with a solo shot from senior Zoe Sinner. The homer marked Sinner’s second in as many games and fifth on the season.

“She’s hit three home runs in the last week,” Chouinard said. “That speaks for how she’s stepping up her game. With Senior Day last week and realization that things are coming to an end, it kind of inspired her. Hopefully we can get that production throughout the rest of the season.”

The Blue Demons struck again in the fourth inning with three runs. A triple by Lindsey Dean scored two before the Huskies earned the final out of the inning. Seven of DePaul’s nine runs came after NIU got two outs. Chouinard found it difficult to determine how to improve the defensive performance after getting two-thirds of the way out of the inning.

“I’m not quite sure,” Chouinard said. “I wish there was an easy answer to that question.”