Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Northern Illinois
No. 19 Northwestern Homers Past Huskies, 6-3
5/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 4, 2005
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Sophomore Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) walloped two home runs and drove in four as No. 19 Northwestern closed out its 2005 home schedule with a 6-3 victory over Northern Illinois Wednesday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
With the win, Northwestern improves to 37-12 on the season, its most wins since 1995. The Huskies fall to 21-25 with the loss.
Freshman Stephanie Churchwell (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro) opened the Wildcat half of the first with sharp single off NIU third baseman Ellen Stoddard, who was then forced to leave the game. Stoddard is the daughter of Northwestern assistant baseball coach Tim Stoddard.
Churchwell's hit was her first since having a team-best 16-game hitting streak snapped Tuesday against DePaul.
Northern Illinois put the first run of the game on the board with a second-inning home run by Elyse Jamrozy. Besides that one run, Northwestern starter Courtnay Foster (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro) cruised early, striking out the side in each of the first two innings.
The Wildcats stole the lead away in the bottom of the third. Churchwell doubled off the left-field wall with one out, then trotted home when Cooper crushed the ball just inside and over the right-field foul pole for a two-run home run and a 2-1 Northwestern advantage.
NU put two more runs on the board in the fourth. Junior Sheila McCorkle (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei) laid down a pretty one-out bunt single, then she trotted home when sophomore Jessica Miller (Elberfeld, Ind./Techumseh) lifted a ball high over the left-field fence for her third home run of the season and a 4-1 NU lead.
Miller continues to rack up bases at an alarmingly efficient rate. Of her nine hits this season, eight have been for extra bases. She is currently slugging .548 for the year. For her career, she has 11 extra-base hits out of twelve total base knocks.
Following Miller's home run, Lindsey LaChiana replaced NIU starter Paige Granath in the circle.
Two more Wildcats crossed the plate in the fifth inning in very familiar fashion. Senior Erin Mobley (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) earned first base after being hit by a pitch, then Cooper uncorked her second home run of the game, mashing a soaring ball over the center-field fence for a five-run cushion, 6-1.
Cooper's blasts give her 11 on the season, tying her season-high from last season. She now has 22 for her career, one shy of teammate Kristen Amegin's (Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) current career total of 23. She joins Churchwell as the only Wildcat to hit two home runs in one game this season; Churchwell hit two solo shots on March 21 against then-No. 17 Oregon State.
Sophomore Megan Hinck (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich), who entered the game as a pinch runner for Amegin in the fifth, remained in the game to pitch the final two innings.
Jamrozy added her second home run of the game in the top of the seventh to cut NU's lead to 6-2. An error allowed another run to come home, making the final score 6-3.
Mobley ended the game by making the final out of her Sharon J. Drysdale Field career, tracking down a line drive flirting with fair territory with an impressive sliding catch.
Foster (18-6) earned the win for NU with five innings of work, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out nine.
Granath was tagged with the loss for the Huskies, dropping her season record to 1-4.
Northwestern returns to action at 5 p.m. Saturday evening at No. 1 Michigan. The Wildcats need at least a split of their two-game series with the Wolverines this weekend to capture the Big Ten Championship. WNUR 89.3 FM will broadcast Saturday night's game live, and the audio will be streamed on NUSports.com with your College Sports Pass.
