Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, April 29
DeKalb, Ill.
10 a.m.
Eastern Michigan University
15-32, 3-18
2
at
5
Northern Illinois
27-18, 13-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Eastern Michigan
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
7
3
Northern Illinois
0
1
1
0
2
1
X
5
7
2
Photo by: EMU Athletics/Andrew Mascharka
Comeback Bid Falls Short as EMU Drops Series Finale to NIU
4/29/2017 2:02:00 PM | Softball
Amanda Akles cranked her seventh home run of the season in the loss
DEKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – Playing through high winds and rain, the Eastern Michigan University softball team's comeback attempt fell short Saturday, April 29, against Northern Illinois University at Mary M. Bell Field. A tight affair ended 5-2 in favor of NIU, sending EMU home with a loss.
The Green and White registered seven hits in the game, as five different Eagles notched hits, highlighted by a pair of two-hit performances. Senior Michelle Kriegshauser (New Lenox, Ill.-Lincoln Way Central) and sophomore Amanda Akles (La Habra, Calif.-La Habra) paced EMU at the plate. Kreigshauser went 2-for-4 with a double, while Akles went 2-for-3 with a home run.
Eastern pieced together a great scoring chance in the second, loading the bases with one out. Freshman Ariana Chretien (Commerce, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern) came through with a single to right, before moving to second on freshman Danielle Rico's (Moreno Valley, Calif.-Grand Terrace) ground ball. With two on, sophomore Sam Saporito (Eastvale, Calif.-Eleanor Roosevelt) capitalized on a miscue to load the bases with one away, but a strikeout and line out ended the threat without anything to show for it.
Northern Illinois pieced together a one-run second to take the lead. A single and a walk moved into second and third on a sacrifice bunt, before an RBI fielder's choice brought the first run of the game across the plate. The Huskies added an insurance run in the third, making the score 2-0 into the fourth.
After a clean fourth, the Eagles offense got things going in the fifth. Kriegshauser opened the frame with a single to the right side and sophomore Olivia Logan (Riverview, Mich.-Riverview) followed suit with a single to the left side, setting Hostetler up for an RBI opportunity. With two on and two out, junior Haley Hostetler (New Haven, Ind.-Woodlan) kept the rally going with an RBI double to left center to cut NIU's edge to one, 2-1. Chretien drew a walk to load the bases, but Eastern's rally ended shortly thereafter on a lineout to third.
NIU capitalized on an EMU miscue in the fifth, getting a pair of runs back on three hits and an error, to push its lead back to three, 4-1, with Eastern coming to the plate in the sixth. The Green and White could not do much with Kreigshauser's two-out double, quickly turning things back over to the Huskies.
Northern Illinois tacked on another run in the sixth, extending its advantage to 5-1 with EMU heading to the plate for its final at bats. Akles cranked a solo home run to leadoff the top of the seventh, but the Eagles' comeback fell short, 5-2.
Eastern takes a break from MAC play Tuesday, May 2, with a quick trip to Rochester, Mich. for a doubleheader against the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland University. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Green and White registered seven hits in the game, as five different Eagles notched hits, highlighted by a pair of two-hit performances. Senior Michelle Kriegshauser (New Lenox, Ill.-Lincoln Way Central) and sophomore Amanda Akles (La Habra, Calif.-La Habra) paced EMU at the plate. Kreigshauser went 2-for-4 with a double, while Akles went 2-for-3 with a home run.
Eastern pieced together a great scoring chance in the second, loading the bases with one out. Freshman Ariana Chretien (Commerce, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern) came through with a single to right, before moving to second on freshman Danielle Rico's (Moreno Valley, Calif.-Grand Terrace) ground ball. With two on, sophomore Sam Saporito (Eastvale, Calif.-Eleanor Roosevelt) capitalized on a miscue to load the bases with one away, but a strikeout and line out ended the threat without anything to show for it.
Northern Illinois pieced together a one-run second to take the lead. A single and a walk moved into second and third on a sacrifice bunt, before an RBI fielder's choice brought the first run of the game across the plate. The Huskies added an insurance run in the third, making the score 2-0 into the fourth.
After a clean fourth, the Eagles offense got things going in the fifth. Kriegshauser opened the frame with a single to the right side and sophomore Olivia Logan (Riverview, Mich.-Riverview) followed suit with a single to the left side, setting Hostetler up for an RBI opportunity. With two on and two out, junior Haley Hostetler (New Haven, Ind.-Woodlan) kept the rally going with an RBI double to left center to cut NIU's edge to one, 2-1. Chretien drew a walk to load the bases, but Eastern's rally ended shortly thereafter on a lineout to third.
NIU capitalized on an EMU miscue in the fifth, getting a pair of runs back on three hits and an error, to push its lead back to three, 4-1, with Eastern coming to the plate in the sixth. The Green and White could not do much with Kreigshauser's two-out double, quickly turning things back over to the Huskies.
Northern Illinois tacked on another run in the sixth, extending its advantage to 5-1 with EMU heading to the plate for its final at bats. Akles cranked a solo home run to leadoff the top of the seventh, but the Eagles' comeback fell short, 5-2.
Eastern takes a break from MAC play Tuesday, May 2, with a quick trip to Rochester, Mich. for a doubleheader against the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland University. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: THACKER, Tara (8-9)
L: White, Savanah (0-5)
Batting:
2B: Kriegshauser, Michelle 1 ; Hostetler, Haley 1
HR: Akles, Amanda 1
RBI: Akles, Amanda 1 ; Hostetler, Haley 1
SH: Akles, Amanda 1 ; Logan, Olivia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kriegshauser, Michelle 1 ; Akles, Amanda 1
HBP: Wagner, Taylor 1 ; Logan, Olivia 1
Batting:
2B: GRABLE, Kayti 1
RBI: GRABLE, Kayti 1 ; KOSSAKOWSKI, Kali 1 ; WOOLLARD, Alaynie 1 ; HOWLETT, Abby 2
SH: LAMICH, Katie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HARNISH, Bekah 3 ; KOSSAKOWSKI, Kali 2
SB: HARNISH, Bekah 1 ; KOSSAKOWSKI, Kali 1 ; HOWLETT, Abby 1
CS: RIO, Jessica 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
3B/1B
/ Softball
MI/OF
/ SoftballSS/2B
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball1B/3B
/ Softball
3B/2B
/ Softball
C/OF
/ SoftballThank You, Team 38
Monday, May 07
Overcoming Adversity: A Lauren Holdsworth Feature
Saturday, February 24
Closing Out a Legacy: Michelle Kriegshauser
Thursday, May 18
EMU Softball Signs Alyssa Feiler
Saturday, March 25