Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Northern Ill
Softball Sweeps Northern Illinois 4-1, 10-2
4/5/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 4, 2000
April 4, 2000 EVANSTON, ILL. - The Northwestern softball team swept a doubleheader from Northern Illinois this afternoon, defeating the Huskies, 4-1, in game one, and 10-2 in five innings in game two. With the wins, Northwestern improves to 14-15 on the season and is currently riding a season-high four-game winning streak. Northern Illinois falls to 15-14.
Freshman pitcher Lauren Schwendimann (Tustin, Calif.) was the story for the Wildcats in game one, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh. Schwendimann (7-7), who was named Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday, has won five of her last six decisions. Northwestern got on the board in the opening inning, as Brett Nakabayashi (Irvine, Calif.) singled and Mikie Chambers (Country Club Hills, Ill.) reached on an error to open the game. Two outs later, Jenn Shull (San Jose, Calif.) singled to right, scoring Chambers with the game's first run. NU would maintain the 1-0 lead until the seventh, when they added three insurance runs. Erin Jancic (Houston, Texas) doubled into the left-centerfield gap to score Nakabayashi and Chambers. Brooke Siebel (Brentwood, Tenn.) followed with a double of her own, scoring Jancic to extend the lead to 4-0. Schwendimann's no-hit bid ended in the seventh on a lead-off single by Suzie Rizek and she lost the shutout later in the inning, but she was able to strikeout Paige Shemoski, her ninth strikeout of the game, to end it.
Northwestern's bats came alive in game two, as the Wildcats scored multiple runs in each of the first three innings en route to a 10-2, five inning victory. Jancic and Shull each drove in runs in the first as NU led 2-1 after one inning. The Cats exploded for four runs in the second to take command. Cindy Muran (Newbury Park, Calif.) drew a bases loaded walk to plate the first run. A sacrifice fly by Jancic and run-scoring singles by Siebel and Shull capped the inning. Jancic laced a two-run single to right in the third make it 8-1 Wildcats. Katie Gross (Des Moines, Iowa) capped the scoring with a two-run double into the gap in the fifth to make it 10-1. The Huskies battled back to score once in their half of the fifth, but it was not enough to prolong the game. Brie Brown (6-7) picked up the victory for NU, giving up two runs on hits, striking out three.
Jancic drove in six runs in the two games to lead the offense. Nakabayashi went 4-for-5 with four runs scored from the leadoff spot.
Northwestern returns to action on Sunday with a doubleheader at Bradley. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Peoria.
