TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo softball team outslugged Northern Illinois to sweep a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Scott Park. The Rockets (15-10, 5-4 MAC) edged the Huskies (8-17, 3-8 MAC) by a 13-12 margin in the opener before pulling away for an 11-3 (5 inn.) victory in the nightcap.
"Today was a great character day for us and showed who we are and what type of lineup we have," Head Coach
Joe Abraham said. "We fell behind 5-0 and 3-0 in each game after yesterday's tough loss primarily due to our mistakes in the field. We responded though with our bats, and then our pitching and defense picked up as the games progressed."
Junior
Aubrey Reed led the Rocket attack on the day with five hits, including a single, double and triple that drove four runs in Game 1. Freshman
Jenna Kroll also had a big day, including a walk-off grand slam in Game 2 en route to a six-RBI contest.
"Getting some great output from the bottom of the order was huge today for us," Abraham said. "Aubrey and Jenna both came up with some big hits in both games."
Senior
Erin Hunt (11-7) registered victories in both contests. She pitched 3.1 innings of relief in the opener before allowing five hits and three runs (one earned) in a complete-game Game 2 performance.
Toledo and NIU will conclude their four-game series tomorrow. First pitch for the contest is set for noon.
GAME 1
- NIU jumped out early by sending 10 batters to the plate and taking advantage of three Rocket errors in a five-run first.
- Toledo answered immediately as Raelyn Nyren's three-run home to right center cut NIU's lead to 5-3.
- Macey Moore's three-run blast and Aubrey Reed's bases-loaded triple in a six-run second inning gave Toledo the lead for good.
- The Rockets added a run in the third before the teams traded a pair of runs in the fourth.
- After NIU closed the gap to 12-10 with two runs in the fifth, Reed's RBI single to right-center in the sixth provided UT an insurance run it needed.
- The Huskies scored two in the seventh and loaded the bases before Erin Hunt was able to get the final batter to fly out to left field.
GAME 2
- The Huskies took advantage of a Rocket error again in Game 2 to take a 3-0 first-inning lead.
- Toledo rebounded and scored four in the second on a two-run Jenna Kroll's two-run double and RBI singles from Aubrey Reed and Leah Munson.
- Dayna Denner's solo homer in the third increased UT's advantage to 5-3.
- The Rockets ended the game with a six-run fifth. Riley Mohr and Anna Dixon collected RBI singles before Kroll's grand slam sealed the Huskies' fate.