Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
UNLV (Stanford Classic)
UNLV Escapes Northwestern, 2-1
3/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 24, 2005
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- No. 20 Northwestern could not find the clutch hit Thursday afternoon in its first game at the Stanford Tournament, falling to UNLV, 2-1 at Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium.
Northwestern (15-8) opened the scoring in the bottom of the second. Junior Jamie Dotson (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) laced a leadoff double down the left-field line, then was replaced by pinch-runner Elizabeth Piatt (Monticello, Ill./Monticello). Junior Sheila McCorkle (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei) executed a sacrifice bunt to move Piatt to third, then sophomore Megan Hinck (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) drove her in with a hard single up the middle.
UNLV evened the score, 1-1, in the top of the third inning with a solo home run by Marissa Nichols. She came into the game batting .463.
In the bottom of the fourth, Dotson again led off with a base hit. She advanced to third after McCorkle survived a double-digit pitch at-bat to send a single into the right-field gap. Freshman Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) drew a one-out walk to load the bases, but Dotson was picked off third by the catcher and sophomore Katie Logan (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) grounded out hard to third, squashing the threat.
The Wildcats again got a runner on the third in the fifth when senior Erin Mobley (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) singled and advanced twice on passed balls, but a fly ball from junior Kristen Amegin (Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) hung up just long enough for the UNLV shortstop to track it down in shallow left to end the inning.
The Rebels (21-11) received another run in the top of the sixth. Nichols walked, then was called safe at second on a steal attempt despite a perfect throw and tag from Dotson to freshman Stephanie Churchwell (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro). She would score on a two-out single to take the lead, 2-1.
Sengewald led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to left field, then advanced to second on a groundout by Logan. Churchwell was called out on strikes and Mobley lined out to the shortstop to end the game.
Northwestern starter Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) largely contained the Rebel lineup, coaxing 15 groundouts while allowing just four hits, two walks and a hit batter, but the Wildcats had two runners picked off base and left seven more stranded to tag Canney with her third loss of the season (9-3).
