Softball: Northwestern completes a late rally to best Northern Illinois

The ’Cats had owned the Huskies for years, but on Tuesday night, they had to claw their way back to avoid getting bitten. In a midweek matchup, Northwestern (24-19, 11-7 B1G) traveled to Northern Illinois University (21-13, 14-5 MAC) to face the Huskies for the 18th meeting all-time. So far, the ’Cats had yet to lose against the state opponent, so confidence was likely running high.

Maybe too high. The Huskies struck first in the opening inning, after forcing a three-up, three-down from the ’Cats. It started when Jenna Turner reached on an error by Tru Medina, allowing her to touch first safely and advance to third through the next two at-bats.

Eventually, she advanced one more. After Kansas Robinson dropped the third-out pop-up, Turner crossed the plate to put NIU on the board. But it wasn’t looking good for Northwestern, as another three-out offensive showing kept the morale low before the Huskies struck again.

After starting pitcher Riley Grudzielanek delivered two runners to the bases via a walk and a hit-by-pitch, a mashed two-RBI double from Lia Nance extended her team’s lead to three. Two subsequent outs ended the inning, but until the fourth, Northwestern remained scoreless, a lone hit from Avery Garden being the only evidence that the bats weren’t asleep. Finally, something started brewing for the purple and white’s offense.