Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Stanford (Worth Invitational)
Wildcats Tree No. 3 Cardinal, 6-1
3/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 5, 2005
Box Score
FULLERTON, Calif. -- In front of a crowd chock full of purple-clad Wildcat fans and alumni, No. 25/23 Northwestern used its most complete effort of the year to down No. 3 Stanford, 6-1, Saturday night at the Worth Invitational.
Northwestern (13-5) got going early at the plate to take a 4-1 lead after three innings of play, then extended that advantage while NU starting pitcher Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) and the Wildcat defense stymied a high-octane Stanford attack.
The Cardinal (17-2) entered the game batting .350 as a team and averaging 7.8 runs per contest. Canney limited them to just three hits while allowing a single walk and an unearned run. She struck out four batters.
"This was a total team effort tonight," NU Head Coach Kate Drohan said. "It was nice to keep scoring late in the game and our defense got to every ball hit."
Stanford had won 14 consecutive games entering Saturday night's contest. The Cardinal's only other loss this season came against Pacific -- a team Northwestern defeated 10-1 earlier this year at the Palm Springs Classic.
The Cardinal is the highest ranked team Northwestern has defeated in the Kate Drohan era. The previous best was a win over then-No. 4 Washington in 2003.
Freshman Stephanie Churchwell (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro) started the Northwestern offense off right, singling to lead off the bottom of the first. Senior Erin Mobley (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) sacrificed her over before sophomore Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) and junior Kristen Amegin (Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) drew walks to load the bases.
Junior Jamie Dotson (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly to score Churchwell, then junior Sheila McCorkle (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei) singled to right and Cooper came around to give NU a 2-0 lead after the fielder mishandled the ball.
Stanford fought back with a run in the second on a passed ball, but NU wasted no time answering.
In the third inning, Cooper hit a one-out single before Amegin launched a mammoth blast over the left-field wall to push the Wildcat lead to 4-1.
The home run was Amegin's sixth of the season and the 17th of her career, moving her into a tie with Sue Hebson for third all-time at Northwestern. Amegin also homered last season in the Wildcats' 4-2 victory over then-No. 8 Stanford.
Northwestern added another run in fifth when Mobley led off with a walk, then Cooper hit a laser-beam through the shortstop that was ruled an error. Mobley scored from first on the play to make the lead 5-1.
Cooper reached base in all seven of her plate appearances during Saturday's games. She was 4-for-4 with a three-run home run earlier in the day against Nevada.
Northwestern put on the finishing touch in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore Megan Hinck (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) walked, then took second on a wild pitch. She advanced to third after a ground ball by freshman Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East), then scored on Churchwell's second single of the game.
In addition to her offense, Churchwell played a stellar shortstop Saturday night, making eight assists in the game. Sengewald added four from second base.
Canney also pitched a complete game earlier in the day, tossing a four-hit shutout against Nevada. Junior Courtnay Foster (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro) -- who was untouchable in relief last week in Northwestern wins against No. 12 Washington and No. 20 Pacific -- was available in the bullpen.
"We wanted to be able to use Courtnay's energy in relief," Drohan said. "Eileen just got on a roll and we did not want to stop that."
Fullerton, Calif., had a distinctly Northwestern feel for the night's contest, with nearly 100 friends, family and alumni in town for an event following the game.
The Wildcats conclude their slate at the Worth Invitational at 11 a.m. Sunday, March 6, against Bowling Green.
