Sports
Thursday, March 19, 2015
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Softball 1st in MAC West Huskies move from rough start to head of pack Christopher Loggins Staff writer
Gavin Weaver | Northern Star File Photo
Chris DeRue throws out a pitch in an April 5 game against Toledo. The Huskies are headed into the season’s first conference game this weekend.
Baseball improved ahead of Bulls game NIU in better spot as it heads to 1st conference game
work in progress. Senior Ben Neumann, who was NIU’s top reliever last season, has made the most of the transition to the starting role. Neumann boasts Steve Shonder an earned run average of 3.38 and Staff writer opposing batters are hitting just .237 T @NSSportsShonder against him. Senior Dirk Ormbsy has DeKalb | Baseball’s (9-10) match- also helped to shore up the rotation up Saturday against Buffalo marks with an ERA of 3.71. the team entering the conference play portion of its season. Buffalo Breakdown The Huskies are much improved The Huskies will open MAC play from where they were at this point against the Buffalo Bulls (3-10) in last season, when they only had two a three-game set beginning noon wins. But, they are still trying to Saturday with a doubleheader and build consistency. concluding 11 a.m. Sunday at Grand “We’ve done all right up to this Park in Westfield, Ind. point,” said head coach Mike KuniThe Bulls have struggled in the gonis. “Obviously, we’d like to be early parts of the season and haven’t a little bit better. I think we’ve had been able to do anything going at the some games we should have won, plate. They’re only hitting .227 as a but we definitely won a lot of games team, with only sophomore Chris that previously would have been Kwitzer and junior Bobby Sheppard given away. It’s a give and a take. ... hitting above .280. I feel pretty strong about our team The Bulls’ pitching staff has been right now. We are talented, and we unable to shake off the early season have some really good players in this rust with a staff ERA of 7.17, which is league. I think we have guys that can the worst in the MAC. compete to win a MAC title.” Kunigonis doesn’t think this game, The Huskies have made some im- the season-opener, is more important provements at the plate from last than any other series the Huskies season, and that has helped them get have played or will play. on base at an improved rate. NIU has “We treat every weekend the an on-base percentage of .359. Junior same,” Kunigonis said. “It’s imporBrian Sisler has been solid offensively tant to win the weekends. That’s what and is tied for the team-lead in hits, you need to do. ... I think you have to 25, and runs batted in, 14. approach it and play it the same. Play Pitching-wise, the Huskies have to win every weekend you can.” had to stretch their relief pitchers Kunigonis said he expects the for starting roles after their top three Huskies to use Neumann and starters from last season graduated. Ormbsy as the starters for the first There have been positive results in two games. He’s still undecided on that regard, but the rotation is still a the third starter.
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DeKalb | Softball has catapulted itself into first place in the MAC West through 24 non-conference games despite being a bit rocky at the start of the season. Softball (12-12, 0-0 MAC) went 6-4 last week. But, the Huskies began the season 6-8 in a 14-game stretch in which they gave up 4.9 runs a game while only scoring 3.9. That deficit has changed drastically: In their last 10 games they have scored 3.2 runs per game while only allowing about 2.3. “We’ve just been able to figure it out,” said head coach Christina Sutcliffe. “We’ve been able to get off the field when we need to. [The] pitching staff really stepped up down in Florida. [The] key for us is staying consistent.”
Key players Pitcher Keegan Hayes was important for the Huskies this week, going 4-1 in six appearances and holding a 0.72 ERA in 29.1 innings. She received MAC West Player of the Week honors for the effort. On the season, Hayes is 6-4 in 10 starts and 16 appearances, maintaining an ERA of 2.21 in 63.1 innings of work. Batters are only hitting .214 against her this season,
Nick Smith | Northern Star File Photo
Rebecca Rupard pitches against North Dakota in an April 2 game. The Huskies are first in the MAC West through 24 non-conference games.
which has proven to be a key factor in many of the Huskies’ wins. On the batting side, sophomore Kayti Grable has led the way with big performances: In 24 games, Grable is batting .486 with six home runs and 24 runs batted in. She has also managed to draw nine walks while having an on-base percentage of .535 and playing well in the field with a percentage of .980. This comes after a season in which Grable hit .363 with nine home runs, 11 doubles and 37 runs batted in, leading to her taking home MAC Freshman of the Year honors and earning spots on the All-MAC and MAC All-Freshman teams. “Both of them have been workhorses for us,” Sutcliffe said. “Keegan
and Jess [Sturm] in the circle have done a good job. Kayti’s just having a phenomenal year. She’s on fire.” What’s next NIU will look to extend its fourgame win streak and maintain first place in the MAC West. “It’s tough when your first 24 games are on the road,” Sutcliffe said. “It was tough when we were coming in and out and coming in and going out again.” The Huskies have played no conference games and no games at home, but that’s soon to change as they play North Dakota State at 1:30 p.m. today at Mary M. Bell Field. They begin a 10-game homestand March 27 against the Ohio Bobcats.