Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Northern Illinois
NU Destroys Huskies, 9-0
4/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 6, 2004
DEKALB, Ill. -- Northwestern's Courtnay Foster fired a one-hit shutout and senior catcher J.C. Kira led a potent Wildcat attack with a double, a homerun and four RBIs in a 9-0 trouncing of Northern Illinois Tuesday in DeKalb, Ill.
Foster (8-9) dominated the Huskie lineup to earn her second one-hit shutout of the season. The sophomore struck out eight and allowed only a soft liner to left to fall in for a hit. Foster had been pinned with the loss in her last six decisions.
"Courtnay was in control the entire game," Wildcat head coach Kate Drohan said. "We had a plan to get her going for seven innings and we did that."
While Northern Illinois (10-23) could not touch Foster, the 'Cats' bats could not be stopped.
NU erupted for 11 hits in the game, its third-best total of the season, and staked itself to a 7-0 lead after three innings. Eryn Manahan stroked a run-scoring single and Kira poked a two-run double in the second to open the Wildcat scoring.
Northwestern added four more runs in the third frame on Kira's two-run blast off the scoreboard in left field following back-to-back-to-back doubles by Garland Cooper, Manahan and Kristen Amegin.
"We were relaxed in the batter's box," Drohan said. "We did a good job hitting our pitches."
NU added two more runs in the seventh when freshmen Jessica Miller and Elizabeth Piatt scored on an Amegin sacrifice fly and a Jamie Dotson double. Miller and Piatt drew walks to lead off the inning.
Dotson finished the game 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Carri Leto, Cooper, Manahan and Kira also collected two hits in the game for Northwestern.
The Wildcats improve their record to 17-11 with the win. They return to action at 3 p.m. Friday against Big Ten rival Wisconsin at Sharon J. Drysdale field.
