“I got to first base and started crying.”

Third baseman Krista McPherson singled in her last regular season at-bat at Mary M. Bell Field.

“I was just thinking about how bad I wanted it to keep going,” she said. “I didn’t want to end on a loss.”

McPherson, along with seniors Michelle Nendza, Taryn Hagemann and Jenna Mitchell, all celebrated their last game as Huskies.

The seniors were fortunate to say goodbye to the field on a winning note, after a walk-off hit from junior Bailey Ouellette.

NIU won only one of its four games over the weekend, but the 6-5 win against Ball State couldn’t be better placed in the schedule.

“This is a great win for the seniors,” NIU head coach Lindsay Chouinard said. “They have been here for four years and put in all the hard work. For them to end on a win, it was very emotional.”

All four seniors made appearances in the final game of the season. Three of the four seniors started, while pitcher Taryn Hagemann came in for the fifth inning.

“It was a lot harder than I expected,” Hagemann said of playing her last game. “You always see other people go through it, but to actually do it yourself is hard.”

Hagemann said she felt nervous walking out to the mound early in the fifth. She knew it would be the last time she would pitch as a Huskie, and she wanted a win.

“I have never doubted my teammates. We always have the potential to come back and win,” she said. “For them to come out and get it done in the last inning was huge. It was a great way to end the season.”

Teammates said goodbye to their seniors by painting 4, 8, 18 and 99 just beyond center field.
McPherson, now wearing No. 1, was honored with her former No. 99 in the outfield.

“I was 99 three out of four years here,” McPherson said. “They know me well enough and I appreciate that they used 99.”

Though the seniors won their last college contest, McPherson is sad to see the season come to an end.

“I am going to miss every single one of them,” McPherson said. “I have 15 best friends on this team.”

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