NKU-Northern Illinois box score |
NKU-Evansville box score
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team suffered a pair of heartbreaking one-run defeats on Saturday in the Evansville Invitational. The Norse lost in walk-off fashion to Northern Illinois, 4-3, before coming up short in an 8-7 slugfest against the host Purple Aces.
The losses put NKU at 1-10 on the season entering next weekend's Atlantic Sun Conference opener at Jacksonville. The Norse and Dolphins will play a three-game series at the JU Softball Complex beginning Saturday, March 8.
Northern Illinois saw five different players post multi-hit games in the 4-3 opening defeat of the Norse. Seven different Norse got hits in the game as well, as both teams clicked offensively.
NIU pitcher Rebecca Rupard went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and picked up the win in the circle to go to 1-1 on the year, striking out three Norse batters while scattering seven hits and one walk.
Dee Dee Davis and
Rachel Kohlman each homered for the Norse, who took the lead in the sixth inning on the Davis solo blast, her second of the season. Kohlman's pinch-hit home run in the top of the seventh inning, her first collegiate home run, tied the game back up for the Norse at 3-3.
Northern Illinois got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when Nicole Gremillion led the inning off with a bunt attempt that was misplayed by NKU pitcher
Paige McQueen. After a sacrifice bunt, Gremillion scored the game's first run on an RBI-single by Emily Naegele, her first of two hits on the day.
The Norse answered in the top of the fifth inning after
Michelle Carson led the frame off with a double to the wall in centerfield.
Nicolette Hayes sacrificed the senior to third base before
Allie Conner brought her in on a single to right field.
After the Davis home run in the top of the sixth inning, Northern Illinois regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth on RBI-singles by Rupard and Kali Kossakowski.
The game-winning sequence in the seventh inning was not that unlike the scoring sequence in the first for the Huskies. Gremillion again reach on a bunt, this time a single, and Ashley Kopp sacrificed her over to second base. After Naegele drew a four-pitch walk, Shelby Miller ended the game with an RBI-single to centerfield, scoring Gremillion and ending the game.
Paige McQueen took the loss for the Norse to fall to 1-2 on the year. The freshman gave up four runs on 12 hits in 6.1 innings, walking one and striking out another.
Game 2 was a battle of crooked numbers, as both teams put up mutli-run innings leading up to an 8-7 Evansville victory.
Davis was again spectacular at the plate, going 3-for-4 and finishing the game a single shy of the cycle.
Katelyn Roy also hit her third home run of the season to take a share of the team lead in that category.
Again it was NKU's foe striking first, as back-to-back RBI-doubles by Kayla Fortner and Megan Gurski quickly made it a 2-0 lead for the Purple Aces, who were batting as the visitors in the top of the first. NKU responded in the bottom of the second inning when Roy reached base on an error by Gurski at second base to lead off the inning. Roy advanced to second on a
Natalie Papi groundout and came home when
Dani Devlin roped a two-out double, her second extra-base hit of the season. Hayes followed suit with her first hit of the year, an RBI-single to bring home Devlin and tie the game at 2-2.
Gurski got the second of her three hits on the day in the third inning, a two-run blast to put the Purple Aces back on top, 4-2. But the Norse again struck quickly in response as Davis hit a booming double to left field on the very first pitch of the third inning. The second pitch went to Roy, who deposited the softball over the outfield wall, tying the game at 4-apiece.
It was Chandra Parr getting in on the action in the Evansville fourth inning, as the Purple Aces took advantage of a pair of Norse errors to set up a two-run double to the centerfield wall, scoring Victoria Dellorto and Kirsten O'Conner and again giving Evansville the edge.
KC Straley's one-out single set up the scoring in the bottom of the fourth. The speedy junior proceeded to swipe her fifth bag of the season, and then motored to third base when the catcher's throw went off line. Davis made the fortunate base running irrelevant, however, working a 3-2 count before launching her second long ball of the day and again knotting the score.
Evansville threw another haymaker in the fifth inning, scoring runs on a Michal Luckett single and a Dellorto double to make in an 8-6 advantage. NKU could not respond until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Straley again worked a walk to lead off the inning. After she advanced to second on a
Mandi McQueen groundout and took third on a wild pitch, Davis added a triple to center field to her day's resume, cutting the deficit to one run. However, Davis would be stranded at third base to end the frame.
NKU's last chance came in the bottom of the seventh. Hayes was hit by a 1-2 pitch to give the Norse life with two outs, but
Allie Conner struck out to end the frame, and the game, for the Norse.
Five different Evansville batters claimed multi-hit games as the Purple Aces combined for 12 hits off Norse pitching. Gurski's three-hit day included three RBIs. Annie Moore got her first win of the season for Evansville, pitching two innings of relief while giving up two runs on two hits. Gurski pitched the final three innings to collect her first save of the year.
The loss fell to
Alex Caudill, who is now 0-5 on the season. The junior picked up five strikeouts and did not walk a batter in 4.2 innings of work.
Alyssa Enrique pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing a single hit and picking up a strikeout.
