Polar opposites.

The phrase summarizes the doubleheader between the NIU softball team and the Loyola Ramblers Wednesday afternoon in DeKalb perfectly.

Though the Huskies dropped both games to the Ramblers, NIU was able to put together a late seventh inning rally in the second game, much like Loyola did in the first. This compared to the single hit the team mustered in the first game, where they were shut out 4-0. NIU lost the second game 5-4 in eight innings, but notched seven more hits in the game.

“They’re getting to a more comfortable place,” said NIU head coach Lindsay Chouinard. “They’re finding themselves still and they’re getting closer.”

The second game’s rally marked the first time that NIU’s bats looked alive. Behind 4-1 late in the seventh inning, junior Kayla Kramer rocketed the ball into left field. Loyola’s Kristin Guska had the angle down and it looked like the Huskies’ hopes for winning were over. There was no sun in the sky, but something took Guska’s eyes off the play and the ball dropped. The error allowed Kramer to get to second.

After the mishap, the Ramblers couldn’t recover, giving up back-to-back doubles to NIU’s Michelle Williams and Andrea Colosimo. Colosimo’s second double of the season tied the game at four, before freshman catcher Carly Norton popped out to second to end the rally.

“The girls were all doing really good things,” Roberts said, who recorded the only hit in game one. “They really came together. Three [Kramer’s was scored as an error] doubles in a row, that’s great. That’s heart right there.”

Roberts scored one of the game’s late runs, and was pleased with the rally her team put together. Unfortunately, she was at the plate when Loyola’s Krista Crosson threw the game’s final strike in the eighth. Fans booed at the called outside strike, but Roberts admits that she probably should have swung.

Still, the ending didn’t get the senior down, and she said the rally only made her want to come out and play harder next week.

“We’re going to start stringing hits together and playing good defense,” Roberts said. “Our pitching staff is great right now, and we’re going to start getting some wins and doing the little things right.”