Huskie Beat V O L U M E 1, I S S U E 3 J U L Y 2 0 1 4 O N D E C K F O R F A L L 2 0 1 4 : HUSKIES SUFFER SATURDAY SETBACK F A L L G A M E S : C H E C K W W W. N I U H U S K I E S. C O M F O R D A T E S A N D T I M E S. C A M P : T E A M C A M P : A U G 3 0 T H - 3 1 S T AKRON, Ohio - The Northern Illinois University softball team's run in the 2014 Mid-American Conference Softball Tournament came to an end with a 7-2 setback to Buffalo at Firestone Stadium Saturday, May 10th. "Backing up last year, with what we did this year is only going to move our program forward," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. "If we had gone two and out this year, it would have discredited what we did last year a little bit. Now we truly believe we can come here and do what we want to do." A six-run third inning by Buffalo (31-21) proved to be too much for the Huskies (26-31) to overcome as NIU suffered its second loss of the tournament and fourth straight to the Bulls this season. The Bulls began their rally with a leadoff triple by Ryleigh Fitzgerald. After a walk put runners at the corners, Buffalo's Alexis Curtiss tripled to left field to clear the bases and give the Bulls a 3-0 lead. Curtiss then scored on a Buffalo single to right field. With runners at second and third with two outs, pinch hitter Heather Ryder delivered a single up the middle to score two more runs and give Buffalo a 6-0 lead. I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Rebecca Rupard (Normal, Ill./Normal West) came in to pitch for Jessica Sturm (Wichita, Kan./Goddard), who had been brilliant in NIU's previous three tournament games, and shut Buffalo down the next three innings. She allowed one run on three hits in four-and-a-third innings of work. Huskie Accolades 2-3 "Becca did a good job coming and putting up some zeros when we needed her to," Sutcliffe said. "She's done that all year for us." Seniors in the 4 Record Book What Now? 5 Bryanna Phelan (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) put the Huskies on the board in the bottom of the third with a one out RBI triple to right field to score Ashley Kopp (Burr Ridge, Ill./Hinsdale South). The next inning, Shelby Miller (Ottawa, Kan./Ottawa) blasted a solo home run over the left centerfield fence in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Huskie deficit to four. Alumni Corner 6 7 The Bulls added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. However, it didn't come into play as the Huskies went down in order in the bottom of the seventh. Huskie Headlines 8-9 This year in pictures National Recognition 10-11 Jersey Chasin 12
V O L U M E 1, I S S U E 3 Huskie Accolades P A G E 2 NICOLE GREMMILION (SR): MAC West Player of the Week March 10, 2014 MAC Honor Roll 2nd Team All-MAC MAC All-Tournament Team Career Record Holder for Runs Scored 2014 Academic All-MAC Honorable Mention ASHLEY KOPP (SR): MAC Honor Roll MAC President s Award 2014 Academic All-MAC Honorable Mention SHELBY MILLER (SR): MAC West Player of the Week March 24, 2014 & April 7, 2014 2014 Outstanding Woman Award Winner NIU O Connell Award Winner MAC Honor Roll MAC President s Award 2014 Nan Harvey Award Winner 2014 Academic All-MAC KAITLYN BARRETT (JR): MAC Honor Roll MAC Commissioner s Award KRISTYN BARRETT (JR): BRYANNA PHELAN (JR): MAC Honor Roll MAC Honor Roll MAC Commissioner s Award 2014 Academic All-MAC Honorable Mention JESSICA STURM (JR): MAC West Pitcher of the Week February 24, 2014 & April 7, 2014 NIU Scholar Athlete of the Week February 24, 2014 & April 7, 2014 MAC Honor Roll 1st Team All-MAC EMILY NAEGELE (SO: NIU Scholar Athlete of the Week April 1, 2014 & May 5, 2014 2nd Team All-MAC MAC All-Tournament Team NFCA All-Great Lakes Region 2nd Team Single Season RBI Record Holder H U S K I E B E A T
EMILY NORTON (SO): DELANI VEST (SO): MAC Honor Roll MAC Honor Roll MAC Commissioner s Award KAYTI GRABLE (FR): BECCA RUPARD (FR): MAC West Player of the week March 17, 2014 MAC West Pitcher of the Week May 5, 2014 1st Team All-MAC Freshman of the Year 2014 Victor s Cup Winners P A G E 3
V O L U M E 1, I S S U E 3 P A G E 4 Record-Setting Class of 2014 The graduating class of 2014 has forever made their impact at Northern Illinois University, not only in the classroom, but in the community and on the field. This class has set the bar extremely high for the following classes. They are listed in the record book 13 times in 10 different categories. Nicole Gremillion is the new record holder for runs scored with 153 over her four years (2011-2014). She is also listed 9 other times in the record book including: Season Hits: Tied for 4th with 70 hits (2012), 5th with 66 (2014), Career Hits: 2nd: 232, Doubles: Tied for 4th with 38, Triples: Tied for 3rd with 13, Stolen Bases: 3rd with 55, and Batting Average: 3rd with.344 over her career. Ashley Kopp had a break out year her junior season, landing herself in the record book for single season Home Runs tied for 3rd with 8. Ashley also was a rock at 3rd base throughout key points in our season including the MAC Tournament both her Junior and Senior years. Shelby Miller slugged herself into the record book with the long ball. In 2012, she hit 10 bombs good enough to be tied for 2nd in single season homeruns. Over her four year career she hit 22 long balls to put her just 2 shy of the tying the all time career leader Jill Justin.
P A G E 5 Where are they now? Erika Oswald has begun her search for a career in pharmaceutical sales or something similar to pharmaceuticals. Right now she is trying to get some sales experience and has been working with various companies to do so. Ultimately she would like to end up living in the city near her good friend Whitney. She plans on enjoying what she is doing and living life to the fullest. Nicole Gremillion is currently interning with the NIU Athletics Marketing Department for the summer as a graphic designer. She is hoping to secure a position for the entire year if possible. Her ultimate goal is to find a job near her hometown in Texas working within sales and marketing. Shelby Miller has begun her Graduate Assistantship in the Compliance and Life Skills office at NIU. She will begin studying for her Masters in Sport Management in August. She is very excited to begin working in Athletics and seeing the business side of college athletics. She will be living with Ashley Kopp and Marianne in the Dekalb area. Upon graduation, Shelby would like to find a job in Event Planning. She is open to moving anywhere in the country, but would prefer to stay somewhat close to her family in Kansas. Her life goals include having a family, loving her career, and being happy. Ashley Kopp is working in Chicago at Loft Development Corporation as an administrative assistant. She will return to NIU in the fall to complete her second bachelors in secondary education with a focus in Biology. She will be living with former teammate Shelby Miller in the Dekalb area. Ashley is currently trying to decide whether or not she wants to teach Biology or a Dental Hygienist. She is still unsure about her future plans, but is very excited to be continuing her education and living with her best friend. H U S K I E B E A T
EMILY NAEGELE GARNERS NATIONAL RECOGNITION HUSKIE SOPHOMORE NAMED SECOND-TEAM ALL-REGION P A G E 6 DEKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois University softball sophomore Emily Naegeleearned National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Great Lakes Region second team honors the association announced today. "Emily's all region honor speaks to her success at NIU," said NIU head coachchristina Sutcliffe. "She works hard, leads on and off the field, and is a student of the game. I couldn't be more proud of her and I'm glad the region recognized how valuable she is to our program." Naegele made quite an impression in her first season at NIU and in the Mid-American Conference. The Oak Forest, Ill. native transferred to NIU after one season at Radford University and earned second-team All-MAC accolades. She was also named to the 2014 MAC Softball All- Tournament Team after batting.267 with six RBIs, and two runs scored. She blasted her first career grand slam in the tournament's opening game. One of only five Huskies to start all 57 games for the Huskies, it's even more impressive that all but one of those starts came behind the plate. Third on the team in batting, Naegele posted a.330 average, going 58-for-176. She posted 18 multi-hit games, including a career-high four hits in a 4-for-4 performance in the 2014 MAC Tournament opener against Buffalo. Naegele set the school record for runs batted in in a single season with 49 RBIs, which led the team was among the league leaders. Her 15 doubles led the Huskies in 2014 and it ranks fifth on NIU's all-time single season list. Naegele's six home runs and four triples rank second on the team. Naegele is the first Huskie to earn all-region honors since Stephanie Tofft in 2011. -NIU- H U S K I E B E A T
V O L U M E 1, I S S U E 3 P A G E 7 Alumni Corner Taryn Larsen (Hagemann) Taryn Larsen is a 2008 graduate of the NIU Softball Program, where she pitched under former Head Coach Donna Martin. What was your favorite part of being a Huskie softball player? My favorite part about being a part of the Huskie softball program would have to be meeting all of the wonderful teammates, who quickly became my best friends. To this day, I keep in contact with many of them on a regular basis. What have you done since graduation? In 2010, I married another former Huskie athlete, Zach Larsen. Together we have two beautiful children, Madden (4 1/2 years old) and Maizy (3 months). Our family has stayed close to NIU, buying our first home in Sycamore in January of 2013. We are loyal Huskie fans and make it to almost every home football game, as well as a few softball games.
V O L U M E 1, I S S U E 3 NIU Softball Sweeps Doubleheader at Citrus Classic P A G E 8 NIU Softball Te Completes Swee Western Michig Huskies Sweep North Dakota Huskie Offense Erupts in Win over UIC Huskies Rally for Extra Inning Victory
am p of an Huskie Bats Hot in Victory over Bowling Green Huskie Offense Erupts in Win over Akron P A G E 9 Huskies Hungry Heading into MAC Tournament Huskies Keep MAC Title Hopes Alive Huskies Clinch MAC Tournament Appearance Four Huskies Earn All-MAC Recognition No. 7 Huskies Oust No. 1 Cardinals from Tournament Huskies Advance Past Chippewas
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Jersey Chasin Interested in buying your old jersey for old times sake or maybe to wear to an upcoming game? Below are the pictures of the old jerseys we have in stock. You can receive your jersey with a check made payable to NIU Softball for just $50. We will drop off or mail them at no additional costs! Please email Heather at hhan@niu.edu if you are interested!!! Available Numbers: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21, 21, 22, 33, 35, 39, 99, 32, 28, 27, 25, 24, 19, 11, 6 Also 6 Blank Available Numbers: 99, 35, 27, 24, 22, 19, 19, 18, 14, 11, 8, 7, 4, 3, 1 Also 2 Blanks Available Numbers: 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 21, 24, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 39, 99 Also 2 Blank Available Numbers: 1, 8, 12, 16, 18, 10, 27, 32, 99 Available Numbers: 5, 8, 10, 12, 13, 18, 19, 28, 33, 35, 39 Available Numbers: 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22, 24, 33, 35, 39, 99 Also 12 Blanks