Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Cal State Bakersfield
No. 9 Wildcats Speed By Roadrunners, 7-0
2/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 6, 2009
TEMPE, Ariz. -- No. 9 Northwestern opened the 2009 season Friday at the Kajikawa Classic with a 7-0 win over UC Bakersfield at the Tempe Sports Complex.
The win makes the Wildcats 1-0 on the year and 6-2 in season openers under Kate Drohan. UC Bakersfield drops to 0-2 on the season with the loss.
Northwestern loaded the bases in the bottom of the first thanks to a one-out single by senior Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) and two-out walks to Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard East) and Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga). No runs came of the early rally, however.
Cal State Bakersfield put together its own bases-loaded threat in the top of the third. Two singles and a walk juiced the bags with one out, but a pair of fielder's choice grounders to Williams at short ended the frame with no runs across.
Northwestern scored the game's first two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Williams led off with a line-shot single that one-hopped the second baseman and ate her up, followed by a flare single for Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) down the line in left. After a strikeout, Monka reached on an error by the shortstop before a wild pitch moved everyone up a base and allowed Williams to score for a 1-0 NU lead.
One batter later, Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) lofted a sacrifice fly into center that brought Pauly to the plate for a 2-0 advantage.
The Wildcats scored again in the bottom of the fourth. Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) was hit by the first pitch of the inning before Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) followed with a bunt single. Williams then hit a comebacker to the circle, but the throw to third to force Wheeler was not handled properly, allowing Wheeler to score and moving runners to second and third with no outs.
Two outs later, Monka lifted a single into right to score both Thompson and Wheeler and give the Wildcats a 5-0 lead. Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) followed with a ground rule double to left center to move Monka to third, then pinch hitter Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) laced a double down the right-field line to push across two more runs for the `Cats, making the score 7-0.
Kelly Dyer came in to pitch to begin the top of the fifth inning, relieving NU starter Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias). Dyer threw a perfect fifth before Bakersfield got runners on first and third with one out in the sixth. Back-to-back easy infield pop ups ended the threat for the junior before she set down the side in order in the seventh to end the game.
Williams finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Thompson also had a pair of hits. Monka and Haug both drove in a pair of runs.
Delaney (1-0) went 4.0 innings in the game, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Dyer pitched the final three frames to earn her first-career save, allowing no runs on one hit and one walk with one strikeout for the combined shutout.
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