Sophomore Kelly Drozd drilled a pitch by Eastern Michigan’s Nikki Denman to right-center field in the bottom of the sixth-inning in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, giving the NIU softball team a 5-4 victory.

Senior pitcher Amy Krahula and the Huskies’ defense held EMU’s offense in the top of the seventh inning for their first MAC win of the year.

Drozd is leading the Huskies (9-18, 1-1 MAC) with a .296 batting average as the No. 3 hitter in the lineup.

“Kelly provides a spark, a left-handed bat and great bunting ability,” NIU coach Donna Martin said. “She’s a triple threat for us and hard to defend.”

The Huskies lost the second game of the doubleheader 4-0. The final game of the three-game series will conclude at noon today, barring more bad weather, at Mary Bell Field. Sunday’s game was rained out heading into the bottom of the fourth inning with the game tied at two.

In the first game, NIU’s offense recorded 11 hits off EMU ace Nikki Denman. Denman came into the game with a .066 earned run average and shut out the Huskies in their last meeting.

NIU pitcher Amy Krahula took home a complete-game win on the mound. The senior struck out six batters and gave up four hits while walking one.

“We need to pitch effectively,” Martin said in response to whether or not NIU can make a run at the MAC championship. “Our pitchers need to hit their locations and stay aggressive.”

Junior Kathy Dearborn took the mound for NIU in the second game. The Huskies offense wasn’t able to provide any run support for Dearborn, managing three hits in the shutout.

The Huskies’ offense has dropped off considerably this season, batting .215 as a team after hitting .265 and .274 in the last two seasons.

“We lost two big bats from last season in Lisa Mattke and Paige Shemoski,” Martin said. “We’re trying to find a combination to fill that void right now.”

EMU pitcher Michelle Lloyd forced NIU into eight outs on groundballs, ten flyouts and struck out three hitters while walking two.

For the Huskies, Dearborn gave up all four runs and seven hits in five innings while striking out three before freshman Amy West came in to finish the game.

Dearborn also started Sunday’s game. She struck out five hitters while giving up five hits in three and two-thirds innings before Krahula came in with the bases loaded.

Krahula walked in a run before getting Denman to popout to third baseman Lacey Gones for the last out.