Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Rutgers
No. 8 Wildcats Checkmate Scarlet Knights in Ninth, 6-5
3/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 7, 2008
Box Score
LAKEWOOD, Calif. -- After scoring four times in the first inning Friday against Rutgers at the Long Beach Invitational, No. 8 Northwestern shook off a Scarlet Knights' rally to earn a nine-inning, 6-5 victory.
Northwestern improves to 11-3 on the season with the win, 1-0 at the Long Beach Invitational, which is being played in large part at Lisa Fernandez Field at Mayfair Park away from the 49er's campus. Rutgers falls to 6-4 on the year with the loss.
Northwestern opened the game by batting around in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) worked a full-count, leadoff walk, then moved to second on an infield single from junior Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola). After a groundout by Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) moved both runners up a base, freshman Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) drew a four-pitch walk to load the bags.
Another full-count walk, this one issued to junior Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport), pushed Quinn across the plate for the first run of the game. Jessica Rigas (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) followed with a fly ball to medium right center, sending Williams sprinting home on the sacrifice fly. After Rutgers' starter Nicole Lindley gave her fourth walk of the inning to sophomore Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) to again load the bases, freshman Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) laid down a perfect bunt for a single, plating Batts from third.
The fifth walk of the frame, this one to senior Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East), pushed Erin Dyer home for a 4-0 Northwestern lead. The base on balls also pushed Lindley from the circle in favor of Katye Hamlin for the Scarlet Knights. The inning ended when a wild pitch hit the solid wood backstop and caromed directly back to the catcher, who then turned and picked off Kelly Dyer retreating back to third after the wicked bounce on the wild pitch.
Rutgers got on the board in the top of the second inning, turning a leadoff single, two walks, a hit batter and a sacrifice fly into two runs off Northwestern starter Jessica Smith (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon).
In the top of the third, a leadoff walk and several illegal pitch calls knocked Smith from the game in favor of Kelly Dyer, who entered the circle for the first time in her collegiate career. The next two batters notched a single and a triple to knot the score, 4-4, and cause head coach Kate Drohan to bring sophomore Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) in to pitch. Delaney fanned the first batter, then a terrific play by Thompson at third nailed the runner trying to score on a squeeze for out number two before the inning ended on a comebacker.
Smith went two-plus innings in her start, surrendering three runs on two hits and three walks with one strikeout. Dyer faced two batters, giving up a pair of hits and one run.
Both hurlers settled the game into a scoreless battle after the third inning, with Hamlin retiring eight Wildcats in a row until a one-out single by Sengewald in the sixth, while Delaney was perfect in the circle with six strikeouts until Rutgers notched a leadoff single in the seventh.
Sengewald's single in the sixth was followed by a blast to right from Quinn, but Lisa Fernandez Field's extraordinarily large dimensions allowed the Rutgers' right fielder to track the ball down for out number two. Williams solved the depth issue with a drive of her own to right, sending an RBI triple to the fence to drive in Sengewald and give NU a 5-4 lead.
The leadoff single for Rutgers in the seventh turned into a run after a steal and a productive groundout preceded a dink single into left field, knotting the game, 5-5. The run snapped Delaney's 22.0 inning scoreless streak dating back to Feb. 24 at the Palm Springs Classic.
After a two-out single by Kelly Dyer in the seventh failed to produce a run for Northwestern, the game moved into international tiebreaker play in extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Rutgers sacrificed the runner placed on second over to third, then an error put runners at the corners with one out. A groundout to Thompson at third made for out number two with all runners holding before Delaney fanned the final batter to end the frame.
Thompson began the eighth inning on second for Northwestern, and Sengewald sacrificed her to third for out number one. A flare pop up to third and a groundout to short ended the inning with no runs scored.
After Delaney again held Rutgers scoreless in the ninth, Pauly sacrificed Williams to third to start the NU half of the frame. Batts then blasted a ball that would have been a home run in any other ballpark in America, but it still got the job done, falling just in front of the fence for a double and scoring Williams to give NU the 6-5 win.
Delaney earned the win after pitching 7.0 innings in relief, allowing one run on two hits with eight strikeouts.
Williams finished 3-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored to lead NU.
Northwestern returns to action at the Long Beach Invitational at 8 p.m. CT tonight, March 7, against Cal State Fullerton at the Titans' home ballpark in Fullerton, Calf.
