Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State Outlasts Wildcats 2-1 in 10 Innings
3/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 8, 2003
Massachusetts Box Score
Oklahoma State Box Score
PLANT CITY, Fla. - It isn't often that a 15-strikeout performance results in a loss, but that was the case for freshman Courtnay Foster and the Northwestern softball team Saturday night. Lauren Bay struck out 18 Wildcats as Oklahoma State posted a dramatic 2-1 10-inning win over NU in the quarterfinal round of the Speedline Invitational.
The loss dropped Northwestern's record to 13-6 overall and was the Wildcats' only defeat of the tournament after finishing pool play 5-0, which included a 9-6 win over No. 16/21 Massachusetts earlier in the day.
Neither team could muster a run through the opening seven innings of play of NU's battle with OSU (15-6), as Foster and Bay went toe-to-toe. The Cowboys struck first in the top of the eighth inning. Megan Carey's two-out double scored Afton Burris, putting Oklahoma State up 1-0.
The Wildcats answered back in their half of the eighth, and had a golden opportunity to win the game. With one out, Sheila McCorkle (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei) perfectly executed a suicide squeeze bunt, scoring Brie Brown (Nashville, Tenn./Harpeth Hall) from third base to tie the game 1-1.
McCorkle reached first base safely on the play and Brett Nakabayashi (Irvine, Calif./Irvine) followed with a bunt single. A wild pitch gave the 'Cats runners on second and third, but Bay struck the next two batters, ending the threat.
The Cowboys recorded the eventual game-winning run in the top of the 10th when Calli Behmer singled home Ashleigh Tweed from third base through a heavy fog that had settled on the field. Bay struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning to finish the game.
Oklahoma State outhit Northwestern 6-2 and stranded 11 runners on base, compared to eight for the Wildcats.
NU earned its perfect mark in pool play earlier in the day by outlasting UMass. It took a while for the Northwestern bats to get going, but timely two-out hitting in the closing innings proved to be the difference.
The 'Cats got on the board first with three runs in the top of the third. Following an RBI single by Nakabayashi, Erin Mobley (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) smoked her first home run of the season over the fence in right-center. However, those were the only two hits the Wildcats would manage in the game until the sixth inning.
UMass answered NU right back with three runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game 3-3. The Wildcats retook the lead in the next half inning, as pinch-runner Jessie Wellnitz (Waterloo, Iowa/East) stole second and advanced to third on an error on the play. She then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jamie Dotson (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill).
The 'Cat bats came to life in the sixth, as the team scored three runs with two outs. Robyn Pettinger (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Fremd) came through with a two-run double to center and then scored from second on an error by the first baseman, putting NU up 7-3.
The Minutemen got to Brown, who came in relief of starter Lauren Schwendimann (Tustin, Calif./Foothill), in the bottom half of the inning. UMass got runners to second and third with one out when Foster came in to relieve Brown. But the Minutemen scored three runs of their own with two outs to get back to within 7-6.
However, Cindy Muran (Newbury Park, Calif./Newbury Park) iced the game for Northwestern with a two-out, two-run single in the top of the seventh to finish off the scoring. Foster set down UMass in order in the bottom of the seventh to pick up her first save of the season.
Brown picked up her third win of the season against no defeats, and Nakabayashi and Mobley recorded two hits apiece for NU.
The Wildcats are off until March 24 when they travel to Bradley to kick off a series of eight games in seven days.
