Huskies beat Memphis, fall to No. 22 Arizona State on opening day

SAN DIEGO – After a long offseason, the Northern Illinois University softball team celebrated the 2023 opening weekend with a pair of games at the SDSU Season Kickoff hosted by San Diego State. NIU opened the day with a thrilling 5-4 win over Memphis before falling to No. 22 Arizona State.

“On our first day, our team could not have had a better start,” said the NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. “We did the little things, and our bench was impressive. Our pitching staff did a great job of working off each other and keeping our opponents off balance.”

HOW DID IT HAPPEN

In the Huskies’ win over the Tigers, NIU showed no signs of offseason rust as they scored five unanswered runs in the first five innings before Memphis got on the board.

Emily Given (Munster, Ind./Munster) dominated the defense in the pitching circle at the same time Courtney James (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) scored the Huskies’ first run of 2023 in the first inning. James reached home plate after Kelly Walinski (Worth, Ill./Marist) outfielder selection.

In the same innings Ally Rodriguez (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) and Walinski, after by Sam Mallinder (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) single to center field, scored two more runs for NIU, giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead.

The Huskies’ first extra kick of the season came in the next frame, when Cara Cruthers (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) blasted a triple to right-center to make it 1-0.

Three batters later and one play later, Cruthers, a quick designed player, and Rodriguez walking first got the nod from Coach Sutcliffe to attempt a double steal. Both runners completed it perfectly, extending NIU’s lead to 4-0.

In the third set Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley), in the second at-bat of her collegiate career, blasted a triple down the left field line. Ellis Erickson (Lutz, Fla./Freedom) made a flawless layup to score Crane, giving NIU a 5-0 lead.

Memphis saved its bat for the fifth inning, though the Tigers scored twice on a double to left field and once more on a triple to left center.

With NIU leading 5-3 in the fifth inning, Lily Cassell (LaGrange, Ohio/Keystone) was invited to experience Dato again. The freshman allowed just one unearned run through the final two innings in his first appearance, marking his inaugural appearance in a Huskie uniform.

After a short break, the Huskies took the field against nationally ranked Arizona State to close out opening day.

After NIU fell behind 2-0 early, Cruthers put the Huskies in the game with an RBI single in the third that scored Crane.

Later in the fifth, Walinski drilled a sac fly to center field, allowing Erickson to score and tie the game at 2-2. On the next drive, a Sun Devil error allowed James to score, giving NIU the lead.

The Huskies held their lead until the bottom of the seventh inning. A single by Arizona State tied the game at 3-3 before Yanni Acuna ended the game with a groundout RBI double to right center.

NOTEWORTHY

• Crane was 2-for-6 on the day and recorded two RBIs
• Cruthers was also 2-6 with one RBI
• Mallinder was 2-6 and knocked in two runners
• Erickson was 1-3 with one RBI
• NIU evened its all-time series with Memphis at 1-1 after today’s win
• James and Crane each scored a pair of runs to pace the Huskies
• Crane and Cruthers each had four sacks
• Dato is 1-0 this season
• Cassell secured the first save of his career
• Batters had just a .278 batting average against NIU pitchers

NEXT

The Huskies return to the diamond tomorrow for two games. NIU will face CSUN at 5pm CT and Notre Dame at 6:30pm CT.