Box Score

The Basics
Score: Northern Illinois 5, Western Carolina 4
Records: Western Carolina 4-14, Northern Illinois 5-13
Location: Richmond, Ky. (Gertrude Hood Field)

RICHMOND, Ky. - Western Carolina softball dropped a heartbreaker in a walk-off by Northern Illinois falling 5-4 Saturday at Gertrude Hood Field in day two of the EKU Invitational.

Turning Point
With the score tied 4-4, Northern Illinois won on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning.

How it Happened
- Western Carolina took the early lead off the bat Madison Armstrong who hit a homerun in the top of the third giving WCU a 1-0 lead.
- The Catamount lead was short-lived as Northern Illinois scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth. A walk to the Huskies and a close play at first, in which the NIU player was called safe and a passed ball set up the four runs for the Huskies.
- Western Carolina got one run back in the top of the fifth again off the bat of Armstrong courtesy of a sacrifice fly which scored Abigail Daniels.
- The Catamounts tied the game 4-4 in the top of the sixth inning. Hunter Gibbons led off with a single and Kailey McNeil followed launching a two-run homerun.
- Northern Illinois won the game on a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

Inside the Box Score
- Catamount junior pitcher Lily Hayes got the start tossing a complete game and taking the loss. She falls to 0-6 on the season. Hayes tossed 6.2 innings giving up five runs on 11 hits, walked three and struck out six.
-Western Carolina had four hits in the contest.
- Armstrong and McNeil each had a pair of RBI and each scored a run.
- Each team had an error in the game.
- Western Carolina left six runners on base.

News & Notes
- Armstrong extended her on-base streak to nine straight when she was hit by a pitch in her first at-bat.
- McNeil hit the second homerun of her career.
- Hayes now has 135 strikeouts in a career ranking her seventh in the WCU record books.
- Armstrong's homerun gives her 11 in her career tied for 17th in the Catamount record books.
- Western Carolina's four runs against NIU is the most for the Catamounts in eight games or 52 innings. The last time WCU scored multiple runs in a game was the 5-1 win over Penn State Feb. 24.

Up Next
Western Carolina will complete play in the EKU Invitational with a pair of games beginning at noon. The Catamounts face Akron at noon and play Northern Illinois again at 2:30 p.m.

For the latest information on Catamount softball, follow @catamounts on Twitter or go to www.catamountsports.com.