Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats, Hoosiers Suspended In Seventh Inning
4/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 24, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Northwestern put six runs on the board in the top of the first inning Saturday at the IU Softball Field before attempting to weather both an Indiana comeback and the weather, holding an 8-6 advantage when rain and lightning suspended the game in the top of the seventh inning.
The game will be resumed at 9 a.m. CT tomorrow, Sunday, April 25. Game two of the series then will begin 30 minutes after the completion of game one.
Northwestern waited not at all to jump all over Indiana, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring six times in the top of the first. Freshman Emily Allard (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) bounced a single over the head of the pitcher to lead off the game before swiping second base. Classmate Kristin Scharkey (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza) followed Allard with a full-count walk before Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) crushed a soaring home run deep over the fence in left center to give the Wildcats a quick 3-0 lead. The blast was Monka's team-leading 12th of the year and the 31st of her two-year career.
On the very next pitch, senior Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) did Monka one better, sending a solo shot clear over the scoreboard in left field to push the score to 4-0 with no outs yet recorded. Pauly's home run was her third of the week, her 11th of the season and the 51st of her career. The hit also knocked Indiana starter Jessica Dobson out of the circle in favor of Monica Wright.
The inning continued with a single back through the middle off the bat of Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North). She gave way to pinch runner Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North), who moved to second when Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) drew a walk. An illegal pitch with Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) at the plate moved both runners up a bag, then Wheeler smashed Northwestern's second triple of the year to the fence in center to clear the bases and make NU's early lead 6-0 before Indiana finally ended the onslaught.
In the bottom of the inning, Northwestern starter Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) retired the side without allowing a hit, striking out the final two Hoosiers she faced.
In the bottom of the second, Monka reached base when the IU right fielder dropped a basket-catch attempt on a liner for an error. Aly Euler (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) entered the game to run for Monka, then moved to third when Pauly laced a double inside the line in left field. One out later, a ball got by the Hoosier catcher and Euler attempted to race home, but a friendly carom off the backstop helped IU nail Euler to end the inning.
Indiana found the scoreboard in the bottom of the third with the help of its first two base hits of the game. An NU error on a squeeze attempt allowed the first Hoosier to score, then a two-run single later cut the Northwestern lead in half, 6-3. With two outs in the inning, Indiana loaded the bases on a walk, prompting Drohan to insert Jessica Smith (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) into the circle. Smith got a fly out to Wheeler to end the inning with no further damage done. Delaney ended up going 2.2 innings in the game, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and four walks with three strikeouts.
Smith and Wright engaged in a duel following the third inning, with each hurler holding their respective opposing lineup scoreless in the fourth and fifth. Northwestern put an end to the streak in the top of the sixth, beginning with a one-out double from Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) that landed just inside the left-field line. She moved to third when Allard beat out an infield single for her second base hit on the day. Allard immediately stole her second base of the game, then Scharkey lifted a sacrifice fly into left that moved Allard to third and scored Thompson to extend NU's lead to four, 7-3.
With storm clouds closing quickly and darkness enveloping the IU Softball Field, the Hoosiers led off their half of the sixth with a double against Smith. Later on, a single back up the middle drove in a run before a Northwestern error allowed two more Hoosiers to score to cut the Wildcats' lead to one, 7-6. Smith ended the inning on a pure reflex play, protecting her face from a hard liner back at her. She knocked it down then threw to first to preserve her lead heading into the seventh.
In the top of the seventh with sprinkles falling, Batts led of with a soaring solo home run over the fence in right to give the Wildcats a quick insurance run. The blast was her 10th of the year and the 30th of her career, and it also punched a hole in the clouds and caused the skies to open up, forcing a rain delay, which quickly become a suspension.
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