Mary M. Bell Field played host for the NIU softball team’s senior night on Thursday against Loyola.

It was a great night for the Huskies (23-21 overall, 10-4 MAC) as they swept Loyola (22-21 overall, 12-5 Horizon) in two games.

The Huskies won game one in five innings due to the mercy rule, 14-2, and they followed that up with a 4-0 shutout.

It was also another big night for freshman Stephanie Tofft. She extended her school-record hitting streak to 34 games in the sixth inning of the second game on an RBI single to left field.

The two seniors, Zoe Sinner and Andrea Colosimo had big nights as well. Sinner went 2-for-5 with three RBIs on a three-run home run in the first inning in game one, while also scoring two runs.

Colosimo went 3-for-5 with one RBI, also scoring two runs.

In game one, the Huskies broke out the bats early. They put up a nine spot in the first inning, with the standout play being Sinner’s three-run homer.

“Hitting that home run felt great,” Sinner said. “I have been in a slump since my finger injury, and to go out like that felt awesome.”

The offense was great all around, as every single Huskie that batted had at least one RBI. Sophomore Amanda Sheppard had a great game at the plate, going 2-for-4 and leading the Huskies with four RBIs.

“The offense came out ready to play today,” said softball head coach Lindsay Chouinard. “We put up nine runs in the first inning, and no one is going to complain about that. It was great to see everyone contribute today.”

Tofft pitched for the Huskies and shut down the Ramblers’ offense. She gave up two runs, neither of which were earned, seven hits and recorded four strikeouts in her five-inning complete game.

Game two was a completely different game than game one, as game two came down to pitching and timely hitting.

The Huskies did not have a great game at the plate, but they did enough to win the game.

Sophomore Alexandra Wulbecker came up with an RBI double to right-center that scored junior Krista Matsui that gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning.

That was all the Huskies would need, as freshman pitcher Nicole Gremillion was lights out against the Ramblers. Gremillion threw a complete-game shutout, allowing just five hits, while striking out four.

Pitching was the key factor for the Huskies in their games against Loyola, as they only gave up two runs, neither of which were earned.

“Stephanie and Nicole really stepped up for us today,” Chouinard said. “They both pitched great games and made big pitches when they needed to.”

The Huskies defense was not great, as they had four errors on the day, but they made big plays at key moments.

“The girls played good defense when it mattered,” Chouinard said. “We can still play better defense, but the girls stepped up when we needed them to.”