Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Minnesota
Softball Knocks Off Minnesota, 4-1
4/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 1, 2000
EVANSTON, ILL. - Gretchen Barnes (Flossmoor, Ill.) went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs as the Northwestern softball team defeated Minnesota, 4-1, on Saturday. Northwestern improved to 11-15 overall, 2-1 Big Ten while the Gophers fell to 22-15, 0-3 in conference play.
NU opened the scoring in the second inning. Brooke Siebel (Brentwood, Tenn.) drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed to second base. After Jenn Shull (San Jose, Calif.) flied to right, Barnes laced a double down the leftfield line to bring Siebel across. Minnesota tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fourth, but NU responded in the fifth. Shull opened the inning with an infield single. Pinch runner Stacey Austin (Cincinnati, Ohio) promptly stole second and came around on Barnes' second hit of the day, a single to center. Barnes advanced to second base on the throw home, moved to third on a Mikie Chambers (Country Club Hills, Ill.) sacrifice bunt and scored the second run of the inning on a fielding error by Shelly Nichols at shortstop. Shull provided an insurance run in the sixth, lining a two-out single that scored Siebel from second.
Freshman Brie Brown (5-7) was the story on the mound, firing a complete game four-hitter. She buckled down after her teammates regained the lead and allowed only one hit over the final three frames. Brown has allowed only one run in 9.1 innings this weekend (0.75 ERA).
