Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
DePaul
No. 15 Northwestern Downs No. 25 DePaul, 2-1
5/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 3, 2005
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Sophomore Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) struck out 10 batters and allowed just a single run as No. 15 Northwestern defeated No. 25 DePaul, 2-1, Tuesday afternoon at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
With the win, Northwestern moves to 36-12 overall, 9-3 against teams ranked in the top-25 of the USA Softball or NFCA coaches polls. DePaul falls to 35-15 on the year.
The Blue Demons entered the top-25 for the first time this season just before the game when the ESPN/USA Softball poll was released.
In the bottom of the first, senior Erin Mobley (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) led off the scoring with a one-out home run over the center field fence. She now has homered in two consecutive games and pushed her season total to a career-best six blasts. Mobley is now tied for fourth place on NU's all-time home run list with 17.
DePaul answered when Jenny Doezie hit a solo shot in the top of the second off Canney.
In the top of the third, the Blue Demons loaded the bases with two outs, but a spectacular defensive play at third from freshman Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) kept DePaul off the board. Linda Secka hit a line shot that Sengewald knocked out of the air, picked up and gunned to first to get Secka.
That play was just one of several web gems served up by the NU infield in the game. In the second, freshman shortstop Stephanie Churchwell (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro) laid out to snare a line drive hit up the middle. With a runner on first in the fourth, Sengewald gloved a hard ground ball and fired to freshman second baseman Kelly Odell (Portland, Ore./Westview), who made a quick turn to first for the double play.
In the bottom of the fourth, sophomore Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) hit a one-out drive to the wall in center. The ball bounced through a gap in the fence where the outfield gate is located for a ground-rule double.
Junior Ashley Crane (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake) pinch ran for Cooper, and advanced to third on a deep flyout by junior Jamie Dotson (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill). Junior Kristen Amegin (Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) drove in Crane with a single to center to give the Wildcats a 2-1 advantage.
After issuing a two-out walk to sophomore Katie Logan (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) in the fifth, Megan Huitink replaced DePaul starter Leslie Scott in the circle.
In the sixth, Mobley led off with a walk. Cooper then laced her second double of the game down the left-field line to put runners on second and third with no outs. Cooper now has 14 doubles on the season, taking the team lead away from Dotson, who has 13. Cooper also broke the previous single-season NU record of 13, held jointly by eight different Wildcats, including Mobley, who hit 13 in 2003.
A fielder's choice nailed Mobley at the plate, then Cooper was out trying to score on a wild pitch for the first two outs of the inning, helping DePaul escape the inning unscathed.
Canney preserved the one-run advantage in the top of the seventh, upping her record to 18-5 on the season. She allowed six hits and two walks while striking out 10 in the game.
Scott took the loss for DePaul in her first start of the season, making her record 0-1.
The game was scheduled as a doubleheader, but before the start of the first contest, both coaches decided to play just one game on the afternoon.
Both Northwestern and DePaul entered the contest at the top of their respective conferences, with showdowns against the second-place teams looming. NU will face No. 1 Michigan this weekend for the Big Ten title, while the Blue Demons will take on second-place Louisville for the C-USA crown.
The Wildcats return to action at 4 p.m. tomorrow, May 4, against Northern Illinois at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. The game is NU's regular-season home finale for 2005.
