Northern_Illinois_Huskies_softball
Northern Illinois Huskies softball
College softball team
The Northern Illinois Huskies softball (officially NIU Huskies softball[2]) team is the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I college softball team that represents Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). NIU softball started playing in 1959 and has two NCAA Tournament appearances (1988, 1996) and one appearance in the Women's College World Series (1988). The Huskies are coached by Christina Sutcliffe.
| Northern Illinois Huskies softball | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1959 |
| University | Northern Illinois University |
| Head coach | Christina Sutcliffe (7th season) |
| Conference | MAC |
| Location | DeKalb, IL |
| Home stadium | Mary M. Bell Field (Capacity: 600) |
| Nickname | Huskies |
| Colors | Cardinal and black[1] |
| NCAA WCWS appearances | |
| 1988 | |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 1988, 1996 | |
| Conference Tournament championships | |
| 1996 (MCC) | |
| Regular Season Conference championships | |
| 1988, 1989, 1990 (NSC) 1996 (MCC) 1999, 2000 (MAC) | |
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary M. Bell (Independent) (1959–1974) | |||||||||
| 1959 | Mary M. Bell | 1–1 | |||||||
| 1960 | Mary M. Bell | 1–0 | |||||||
| 1961 | Mary M. Bell | 3–1 | |||||||
| 1962 | Mary M. Bell | 5–0 | |||||||
| 1963 | Mary M. Bell | 4–1 | |||||||
| 1964 | Mary M. Bell | 9–0 | |||||||
| 1965 | Mary M. Bell | 4–2 | |||||||
| 1966 | Mary M. Bell | 3–2 | |||||||
| 1967 | Mary M. Bell | 3–3 | |||||||
| 1968 | Mary M. Bell | 5–3 | |||||||
| 1969 | Mary M. Bell | 8–2 | |||||||
| 1970 | Mary M. Bell | 10–1 | |||||||
| 1971 | Mary M. Bell | 8–4 | |||||||
| 1972 | Mary M. Bell | 7–4 | |||||||
| 1973 | Mary M. Bell | 7–7 | |||||||
| 1974 | Mary M. Bell | 6–6 | |||||||
| Mary M. Bell: | 84–37 | ||||||||
| L. Anne Payne (Independent) (1975–1976) | |||||||||
| 1975 | L. Anne Payne | 6–2 | |||||||
| 1976 | L. Anne Payne | 4–5 | |||||||
| L. Anne Payne: | 10–7 | ||||||||
| Anne Johnston (Independent) (1977–1979) | |||||||||
| 1977 | Anne Johnston | 6–4 | |||||||
| 1978 | Anne Johnston | 16–9 | |||||||
| 1979 | Anne Johnston | 10–18 | |||||||
| Anne Johnston: | 32–31 | ||||||||
| Dee Abrahamson (MAC) (1980–1986) | |||||||||
| 1980 | Dee Abrahamson | 18–19 | |||||||
| 1981 | Dee Abrahamson | 24–24 | |||||||
| 1982 | Dee Abrahamson | 39–18–1 | |||||||
| 1983 | Dee Abrahamson | 15–17 | 2–6 | 4th | |||||
| 1984 | Dee Abrahamson | 19–15 | 8–7 | 3rd | |||||
| 1985 | Dee Abrahamson | 30–21 | 10–8 | 4th | |||||
| 1986 | Dee Abrahamson | 23–19 | 10–8 | 5th | |||||
| Dee Abrahamson (Independent) (1987–1987) | |||||||||
| 1987 | Dee Abrahamson | 24–25 | |||||||
| Dee Abrahamson (NSC) (1988–1992) | |||||||||
| 1988 | Dee Abrahamson | 35–11 | 3–0 | 1st | Women's College World Series | ||||
| 1989 | Dee Abrahamson | 38–7 | 6–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1990 | Dee Abrahamson | 23–19–2 | 4–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1991 | Dee Abrahamson | 31–21 | 12–6 | 2nd | |||||
| 1992 | Dee Abrahamson | 33–25–2 | 8–2 | ||||||
| Dee Abrahamson (Mid-Con) (1993–1994) | |||||||||
| 1993 | Dee Abrahamson | 40–18 | 12–4 | 2nd | |||||
| 1994 | Dee Abrahamson | 24–28 | 9–9 | 3rd | |||||
| Dee Abrahamson: | 416–287–5 | 84–51 | |||||||
| Donna Martin (MCC) (1995–1997) | |||||||||
| 1995 | Donna Martin | 32–26 | 11–7 | ||||||
| 1996 | Donna Martin | 35–17 | 13–1 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1997 | Donna Martin | 35–27 | 11–3 | 2nd | |||||
| Donna Martin (MAC) (1998–2007) | |||||||||
| 1998 | Donna Martin | 33–16–1 | 21–6–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1999 | Donna Martin | 35–19 | 22–4 | 1st | |||||
| 2000 | Donna Martin | 33–22 | 19–3 | 1st | |||||
| 2001 | Donna Martin | 20–35 | 12–12 | 3rd | |||||
| 2002 | Donna Martin | 21–29 | 13–8 | 3rd | |||||
| 2003 | Donna Martin | 23–21–1 | 13–7 | 3rd | |||||
| 2004 | Donna Martin | 14–41 | 6–18 | 6th | |||||
| 2005 | Donna Martin | 24–25 | 9–11 | 5th | |||||
| 2006 | Donna Martin | 23–28 | 10–12 | 4th | |||||
| 2007 | Donna Martin | 22–28 | 10–12 | 4th | |||||
| Donna Martin: | 350–334–2 | 170–104–1 | |||||||
| Lindsay Chouinard (MAC) (2008–2012) | |||||||||
| 2008 | Lindsay Chouinard | 13–30 | 7–13 | 4th | |||||
| 2009 | Lindsay Chouinard | 20–37 | 12–10 | 3rd | |||||
| 2010 | Lindsay Chouinard | 25–34 | 10–10 | 3rd | |||||
| 2011 | Lindsay Chouinard | 26–27 | 13–7 | 7th | |||||
| 2012 | Lindsay Chouinard | 19–34 | 7–15 | 9th | |||||
| Lindsay Chouinard: | 103–162 | 49–55 | |||||||
| Christina Sutcliffe (MAC) (2013–present) | |||||||||
| 2013 | Christina Sutcliffe | 27–31 | 14–8 | 2nd | |||||
| 2014 | Christina Sutcliffe | 26–31 | 10–12 | 2nd | |||||
| 2015 | Christina Sutcliffe | 28–25 | 11–9 | 4th | |||||
| 2016 | Christina Sutcliffe | 35–20 | 13–10 | 1st (West) | |||||
| 2017 | Christina Sutcliffe | 33–21 | 15–9 | 2nd (West) | |||||
| 2018 | Christina Sutcliffe | 24–32 | 11–11 | ||||||
| 2019 | Christina Sutcliffe | 27–25 | 11–9 | ||||||
| Christina Sutcliffe: | 200–185 | 85–68 | |||||||
| Total: | 1195–1053–7 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
- Source: NIU Softball Record Book[3]
NIU softball head coach Christina Sutcliffe is the seventh head coach in NIU softball program history and took over the program starting with the 2013 season.[4][5]
- Christina Sutcliffe – Head Coach
- Ashley Wade – Assistant Coach
- Mickey Bell – Assistant Coach
All-Americans
NIU softball has had seven players named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America teams, including three First-Team All-American selections.[3][6]
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Jill Justin | First-Team |
| 1988 | Jill Justin | First-Team |
| 1989 | Jill Justin | First-Team |
| 1991 | Julie Sexton | Third-Team |
| 1993 | Niki VanHooreweghe | Third-Team |
| 1997 | Tammy Pytel | Third-Team |
| 2016 | Emily Naegele | Third-Team |
Academic All-Americans
NIU women's SOFTBALL has had 18 players named to CoSIDA Academic All-America teams, including eight First-Team Academic All-American selections.[3][7]
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Sue Kause | First-Team |
| 1986 | Amy Veld | Third-Team |
| 1987 | Sue Kause | First-Team |
| 1987 | Amy Veld | First-Team |
| 1987 | Beth Schrader | Third-Team |
| 1988 | Sue Kause | First-Team |
| 1988 | Beth Schrader | First-Team |
| 1988 | Laura Peterson | Second-Team |
| 1988 | Amy Veld | Second-Team |
| 1989 | Beth Schrader | Third-Team |
| 1990 | Julie Sexton | First-Team |
| 1993 | Niki VanHooreweghe | Second-Team |
| 1994 | Niki VanHooreweghe | Second-Team |
| 1995 | Amy Scharlau | First-Team |
| 1995 | Niki VanHooreweghe | Third-Team |
| 1998 | Tammy Pytel | Third-Team |
| 2006 | Lindsey LaChiana | Second-Team |
| 2016 | Emily Naegele | First-Team |
| 2021 | Katie the god Keller | First-Team |
Players of the Year
NIU softball has had two players named Player of the Year by the conference.[3]
Pitchers of the Year
NIU softball has had two players named Pitcher of the Year by the conference.[3]
Coaches of the Year
NIU softball has had five head coaches named Coach of the Year by the conference.[3]
- Division-I: Batting Average
- 1987: Jill Justin, .503
- 1988: Jill Justin, .484
- Division-I: Most Doubles
- 1988: Jill Justin, 18
- Division-I: Slugging Percentage
- 1988: Jill Justin, .833
- Division-I: Most Triples
- 1989: Jill Justin, 8
- Jill Justin, Outfielder, (1986–1989)
