April 13, 2012

Box Score

UB-NIU Box Score 1

UB-NIU Box Score 2

DEKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois University softball team lost its Mid-American Conference doubleheader to Buffalo at Mary M. Bell Field Friday afternoon.

The Huskies (16-23, 4-6) suffered a 7-3 loss in Game One, before dropping an 8-3 decision to Buffalo (11-20, 3-6) in Game Two.

"Buffalo did a great job today," NIU head coach Lindsay Chouinard said. "They did a good job from the plate, hitting up and down their lineup. They hit with people on, with nobody on, putting the ball on the ground, getting their squeeze down. They did everything right from the plate and the mound. They did a good job of getting out of bad situations. We didn't make anything hurt today."

The big inning hurt the Huskies most of Friday. In the first game, Buffalo put up a five spot in the fourth inning, capitalizing on a pair of NIU errors and tallying three hits in the inning. Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln) provided the only highlight for the Huskies in the game, belting a two-run homer to centerfield.

With the score tied 1-1 heading into the fourth inning of the nightcap, Buffalo scored four runs on five hits, then scored three more in the fifth to take an 8-1 lead. NIU came back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run double by Shelby Miller (Ottawa, Kan./Ottawa).

Buffalo committed four errors in the second game, three in the first two innings, but the Huskies were unable to take advantage of the Bulls' miscues. Northern Illinois left the bases loaded in the first and second innings.

The Huskies return to the diamond Saturday, April 14 when NIU begins a two-game series against Kent State at Mary M. Bell Field. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. Central Time. Fans can follow all the action live via Gametracker at NIUHuskies.com.

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