Northern Illinois University pitcher Danielle Stewart gave up just three hits and struck out nine Dayton batters in a complete game performance Sunday, giving the Huskies a 2-1 win over the Flyers in the first of two games on the final day of the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Spring Fling Tournament. The Huskies (4-10) dropped a 10-2 decision to Western Kentucky in five innings in the second game.
“It was kind of a tale of two teams today to be honest with you,” said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. “In the first game we did a really good job of hanging in there and doing just enough. We lost a couple opportunities in the bottom of the sixth to build the lead and [Jenna Turner] made a huge play in the seventh inning to throw a runner out at third and preserve the win. In the second game, I don’t know if we ran out of gas or were out-matched, but we definitely didn’t put our best effort on the field in the second game.
Stewart improved to 3-4 on the season and threw her second complete game of the year. She did not walk a batter and her nine Ks were the most by a Huskie pitcher in a game this season. Dayton’s only run came in the second inning when Maddie Kapsimalis, who had all three of the Flyers’ hits on the day, doubled, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly by Chloe Wong.
“DeeDee [Stewart] finds a way to [give batters] a different look each time through the batting order,” Sutcliffe said. “She’s able to do that on multiple planes. When push comes to shove and the game is on the line games on the line you want her in the circle.”
The Huskies tied the game in their half of the third. Pinch runner Fiona Crane scored on a passed ball after Kacie Quick and Caitlyn Shumaker were both hit by pitches from Dayton hurler Izzy Kemp (4-3). Crane came on to run for Quick and advanced to third on Stewart’s fly ball to right.
NIU senior catcher Ellis Erickson, who collected three of the Huskies’ four hits in the game, provided the game-winner as she led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to left centerfield, her second of the year.
“Ellis had a huge day,” Sutcliffe said. “She started off the first weekend really well, then cooled off a little bit our second weekend and we saw consistency this weekend, so it’s great to see her have her best year as a senior. She’s capable and has a good mindset at the plate right now.”
Dayton (7-5) tried to send the game into extra frames in the top of the seventh. Kapsimalis led off the inning with a double, then was cut down at third by shortstop Jenna Turner on a ball in the hole to preserve the win.
In the second game, NIU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Turner reached on an error, stole second and third, and scored on Stewart’s single.
The Hilltoppers (13-5-1) went ahead for good with two runs in the bottom of the inning on a two-run home run by WKU’s Taylor Sanders off of NIU starter Madison Carlson (0-1) and extended the lead to 3-1 an inning later.
WKU put the game away with a six-run fourth. They scored six runs on six hits while sending 10 batters to the plate against Carlson and reliever Claire Norred to take a 9-1 lead.
Junior Madison Mathews’ leadoff home run in the fifth, the first of her career, accounted for the Huskies’ second run. After the home run, NIU loaded the bases on consecutive singles by Turner, Shumaker and Stewart but WKU reliever Katie Gardner came on to eliminate the threat.
“I think we just need to be consistent,” Sutcliffe said. “I think we need to figure out how to put five quality games together and we just haven’t done that in a weekend yet. We got exposed areas in our game, we just need to clean those up and be able to put a little better product on the field in back to back days.”
The Huskies play their final non-conference tournament of the season next weekend (March 8-10) when they take on Montana and Holy Cross in Missoula, Montana.