Rockets Take Down Huskies, 11-6, to Advance in MAC Tournament

Friday, May 10

Akron, Ohio

Noon

University of Toledo

25-26

No. 4 Northern Illinois

27-25

Toledo

Northern Illinois

Sophomore Kylie Norwood hit a seventh-inning home run in Toledo's 11-6 victory over Northern Illinois today.

Photo by: Will Edmonds

Rockets Take Down Huskies, 11-6, to Advance in MAC Tournament

5/10/2019 5:41:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Akron, Ohio - The No. 7 seed Toledo softball team upset No. 4 seed Northern Illinois 11-6 today thanks to a wild late-inning rally to help the Rockets advance to the next round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio. Fifteen of the game's runs came in the final two innings, with the Rockets putting up four in the sixth and six in the seventh to earn their second upset of the tournament. Toledo saw production from up and down the order as every Rocket who stepped into the batter's box was credited with either a hit, run or RBI on the day.

Highlights of the day included junior Samantha Golden hitting an RBI double in the sixth that gave Toledo a 4-1 cushion. Junior Morgan Paaverud also had an impressive day as she hit a three-run double in the seventh that made the score 11-3 Rockets.

The Rockets return at 7:45 p.m. tonight to play No. 2 seed Kent State.

How it happened

Toledo opened scoring in the first inning when senior Kaitlyn Bergman hit a single down the right field line to bring a runner home from second. NIU looked to respond in the bottom of the frame when a walk, a single and a HBP loaded the bases with one out, but sophomore Erin Hunt steadied the boat with back-to-back swinging strikeouts to close the frame.
The game then settled into a pitcher's duel until the fifth inning when things started getting interesting. With two on, NIU's Abby Howlett sent a chopper past second base that scored one and tied things at 1-1.
Toledo then rallied in the sixth off RBIs from sophomore Bekah Yenrick, Golden and sophomore Ami Ill. Yenrick hit a two-on single that sent a runner home. Three batters later, Golden hit her left field double and was followed by Ill singling to left field to put Toledo up 5-1 before the top of the frame came to a close.
NIU put two runs up in the bottom of the inning as Jenny Van Geertry hit a two-run homer over the left field fence to make the board read 5-3 Toledo.
The Rockets' offense exploded in final inning, and it all started with a leadoff home run from sophomore Kylie Norwood. The Rockets then loaded the bases off two singles and a walk. Two more walks made it 8-3 Toledo with no outs. Toledo's final runs came as Paaverud hit a double into right center that brought around three runners to give the Midnight Blue and Gold a healthy 11-3 lead.
The Huskies refused to go down easy as they added three more runs before the final out. NIU added their fourth run thanks to a single and two errors that put two on and cut the Rockets' lead to 11-4. A double then brought in a fifth run, followed by a sac fly that made it 11-6. Toledo was finally able to close out the game as Golden pulled down a left field fly ball and the defense worked a 5-3 grounder.