Northwestern
BYU
No. 7 Northwestern Knocks Off BYU, 5-0
2/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 23, 2007
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Senior Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) struck out 16 BYU batters and sophomore Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) went 4-for-4 at the plate with a home run to boost No. 7 Northwestern past the Cougars, 5-0, in the Wildcats' opening game of the 2007 Palm Springs Classic.
The win improves NU to 7-4 on the season, while BYU falls to 8-3 overall with the loss.
Northwestern's first run of the game came in its first at-bat when Williams led off the bottom of the frame with a solo homer to right-center field. The blast was Williams' third of the season and the 17th of her career, tying her with Erin Mobley (2002-05) and Sue Hebson (1980-83) for fifth on Northwestern's career list.
With the score still 1-0 in the bottom of the second, the Wildcats got busy at the plate. Junior Kristen Salamon (Kent, Ohio/Kent Roosevelt) led off the inning with a walk, then moved to second on a Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) single. Freshman Aly Euler (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) replaced Salamon at second.
Williams then singled into right, plating Euler from second and putting runners at second and third on the throw home. Sophomore Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) laced a single down the left-field line that scored both Sengewald and Williams and extended Northwestern's early lead to four, 4-0.
Euler has appeared in four games so far this year as a pinch runner, scoring in all four appearances.
Northwestern tacked on another tally in the fourth. Williams notched her third hit of the game with a leadoff single. She then stole second, moving to third when the catcher's throw didn't find its mark for an error. One out later, she would score her third run of the game on a Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) single to give NU a five-run lead, 5-0.
After the single, BYU replaced starter Christina Gwyn with Daniela Urincho in the circle. Gwyn (5-2) took the loss after pitching 3.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and three walks with three strikouts.
Meanwhile, in the purple circle, Canney was cruising. After allowing an infield single to the leadoff batter in the first, Canney did not allow another base hit until the seventh. She whiffed her ninth Cougar of the game for the second out in the fifth inning, giving her 800 strikeouts for her career.
In the bottom of the sixth, Williams led off with yet another single to make her a perfect 4-for-4 in the game. The performance marked the third time in her career she has notched four hits in a single game. Although Cooper added a single for herself in the frame, no more NU runs came of the rally.
Though the 'Cats were through scoring runs, Canney was not done striking out the Cougars. She fanned the side in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to finish the game with 16 strikeouts -- her most in a seven-inning game since whiffing 17 in a 5-0 win at Hawaii on March 20, 2006. The final 11 outs she recorded in the contest came by the whiff.
Canney holds the single-game NCAA Division I record for Ks in a game after notching 28 in an 18-inning win at Minnesota on April 23 of last year.
The win upped Canney's record to 3-4 on the season. She allowed just two hits and a walk to go along with her 16 Ks in notching her second shutout of the season.
Williams was 4-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. The three runs tied her career single-game best, a number she has reached four times during her time at NU. Cooper was 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) also had two hits. Dyer drove in a pair of runs for the 'Cats.
Northwestern returns to action with an 8 p.m. CT game tonight, Friday, Feb. 23, against No. 6 Oregon State.
