Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Pacific (Palm Springs Tourney)
Northwestern Throttles No. 20 Pacific, 10-1
2/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 27, 2005
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- The game was one year in the making.
Last season at the Palm Springs Classic, Northwestern and Pacific were washed out with NU holding a commanding 9-4 lead midway through the contest. This season during Sunday's final action in the desert -- on the very same field from a year ago -- the Wildcats finished the job with a dominating 10-1 win over the No. 20 Tigers.
Northwestern concludes the Palm Springs Classic with a 4-1 record and wins over three ranked opponents: No. 23/25 Long Beach State (2-0), No. 12 Washington (3-2) and No. 20 Pacific. The Wildcats are now 11-4 overall while Pacific drops to 9-3.
Freshman Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) staked NU to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, launching a two-out double off the base of the right-center field fence to plate sophomore Megan Hinck (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) from first base. Sophomore Katie Logan (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) then singled to right field to drive in Sengewald and give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second inning, NU starter Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) walked the first two batters she faced and was lifted for junior Courtnay Foster (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro). Foster gave up sacrifice bunt and a bloop double that scored a run before whiffing the final two batters of the inning to preserve a 2-1 Wildcat lead.
Northwestern put some distance between it and Pacific with a three-run fourth. Hinck and Sengewald led off with back-to-back singles, then advanced to second and third on a perfectly executed Logan sacrifice bunt. Freshman Stephanie Churchwell (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro) drove in both runners with a texas-leaguer behind second base that she hustled into a double.
After senior Erin Mobley (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) followed with a sharp single to left to put runners on first and third, Alyce Jorgenson replaced Pacific starter Natalie King in the circle. Sophomore Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) drew a walk from King to load the bases, then junior Kristen Amegin (W. Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) hit an RBI groundout to give NU a 5-1 advantage.
Northwestern added more scoring in the sixth inning. Churchwell led off with a single up the middle, advancing to second on a wild pitch. Cooper then drove her in with a one-out ground-rule double to right field. Amegin followed with a towering home run down the left-field line to push the Wildcats' lead to 8-1.
The jack was Amegin's Big Ten-best fifth of the season. Of her ten hits on the season, five of them have been home runs and three others were doubles. She is currently slugging .800 for the year.
The Wildcats added the exclamation point in the seventh inning. Sengewald and Churchwell drew walks before Mobley and Cooper both rapped RBI singles to put NU up by nine, 10-1. Churchwell, Sengewald, Hinck, Mobley and Cooper all finished the game with two hits. Northwestern finished with 12 hits as a team.
Sengewald and Churchwell scored three times and Hinck crossed the plate twice. Amegin drove in three runs with Churchwell and Cooper adding a pair of RBIs each.
In the first inning, Pacific put runners on second and third with nobody out. Canney earned a strikeout before walking the bases loaded. She was able to induce a pair of lazy grounders to third to end the inning unblemished.
Foster went six innings in relief and was credited with the win to run her record to 5-2 on the year. She allowed two hits and two walks while striking out 10. The effort was her fourth double-digit K outing of the season.
King (6-1) was saddled with her first loss of the season for the Tigers.
The Wildcats return to action next weekend, March 4-6, at the Worth Invitational host by Cal-State Fullerton.
