Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Ohio State
Northwestern Sweeps Ohio State, 5-3
4/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 18, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Northwestern used two big innings to overcome a five-error defensive performance in beating Ohio State 5-3 to win the second game and earn the sweep of a Sunday doubleheader at Buckeye Field.
The win gave Northwestern a 4-0 record for the weekend after the 'Cats swept a pair of games at Penn State Friday and Saturday.
NU (24-13, 7-5 Big Ten) fell behind in the first inning after a pair of errors preceded a Megan Schwab single, giving the Buckeyes the early 1-0 lead. It did not take long for the Wildcats to roar back, though.
In the bottom of the first, Carri Leto, Garland Cooper and Eryn Manahan singled while Erin Mobley and Kristen Amegin smacked doubles to push across three Northwestern runs and chase OSU starter Chelsea Baker (6-2) after only one third of an inning.
The 'Cats pounded out 10 base hits in the game, their seventh contest of the season with double-digit hits.
In the fourth inning, Northwestern added two more runs to their lead. Leto reached on an error in the inning, scoring on a Mobley single. Ashley Crane -- pinch running following an Amegin single -- successfully baited a rundown and forced a Buckeye throwing error, allowing Mobley to score to extend the NU advantage to 5-1.
Mobley drove in two runs in the game and five on the day. Amegin finished the doubleheader 5-for-6 at the plate.
Down four late in the game, the pesky Buckeyes (26-17, 3-7 Big Ten) would not go away. Reliever Jaime Juarez hit a home run to straightaway center in the fifth -- the only earned run given up by NU starter Courtnay Foster -- and another Northwestern error allowed Baker to reach base and eventually score on a Karisa Evans sacrifice fly.
Foster went the distance in the game, allowing six hits and four walks but surrendering only one earned run while striking out five. She evened her record at 11-11 with the win.
Trailing 5-3 in the top of the seventh, Ohio State put two runners on with two outs after another Wildcat error and a base hit. Baker then hit a soft liner into center field that Sheila McCorkle snagged with a headlong dive to end the game and give Northwestern its sixth consecutive win.
The Wildcats return to action Tuesday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field with a 3 p.m. doubleheader with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
