Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Pacific
Pacific Tops Northwestern in Classic Opener, 4-2
2/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 26, 2010
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- No. 23 Northwestern put bat on ball Friday morning in its opening game of the Cathedral City Classic, but NU had trouble finding holes in a 4-2 loss to Pacific.
Northwestern falls to 5-6 on the season with its loss while Pacific moves to 4-5 on the year with its win, 2-1 at the Cathedral City Classic.
Junior starter Jessica Smith (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) worked her way out of trouble in the top of the first after Pacific got runners to second and third with one out on a walk and an infield single. Smith first coaxed a 3-2 flyout to Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) in shallow left before striking out the next batter to end the inning.
Pacific was able to put the game's first run on the board in the top of the third. A pair of singles put runners on, then they moved up on an illegal pitch call. The next batter flew out to medium-deep right allowing the runner at third to score for a 1-0 Tiger lead.
The Tigers added another in the fifth. With one out, a runner reached third on a passed ball before scoring on a groundout by the next batter to take a 2-0 lead.
Northwestern put together a response rally in the bottom of the fifth. Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) drew a leadoff walk, then moved to third when a throw behind her at first with Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) at the plate scampered into right for a two-base error. Dyer later drew a walk and stole second to put runners at second and third with no outs.
Wheeler quickly sent a fly ball into right field where it was caught for the first out of the inning, but Pauly stormed home on the sacrifice to cut NU's deficit in half, 2-1, while Dyer moved to third. Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) worked NU's third walk of the frame, coming back from an 0-2 count to stick runners on the corners still with one down, but Pacific ended the rally still in the lead.
The Tigers quickly got that run back, battling Smith on a 10-pitch at bat to start the sixth before a leadoff home run to make it 3-1. Meghan Lamberth (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) then entered the circle in the relief. A hit by pitch, single and sacrifice bunt preceded Pacific's second RBI groundout of the game to make it 4-1 before Lamberth ended the frame.
Smith (3-1) went 5.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk with one strikeout.
Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Ranch Cucamonga) led off the sixth with a two-bounce shot directly at the shortstop, who saw it bound of her glove into the outfield for an error. Aly Euler (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) entered the game to run for Monka at first, then moved to second one out later when Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) walked. Both runners moved up on a Pauly groundout, but again the 'Cats stayed on the pond.
Pacific got its first two runners on the seventh on, but Northwestern eliminated them via the rare 2-5-4-3 pick off on the runner at first after Haug did a great job blocking a ball behind the plate, followed by a fielder's choice grounder to take care of the Tiger on second. Lamberth fanned the next batter to end the inning, finishing the game with 2.0 innings of work and allowing one run on three hits with one strikeout.
Pinch hitter Lauren Ackerman (St. Louis, Mo./Home schooled) drew a full-count, two-out walk in the seventh, before Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) re-entered to run for her. A bunt off the bat of Emily Allard (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) led to a throwing error, allowing Thompson to score all the way from first and moving Allard to third, but that is where NU's rally would finish.
Northwestern returns to action later today at 5:30 p.m. CT versus No. 10 Stanford.
