Northwestern Pulls Away From North Texas, 8-4

2/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Feb. 13, 2011

Box Score

Site: Tempe, Ariz. (Farrington Stadium)
Score: Northwestern 8, North Texas 4
Records: NU (3-2), North Texas (2-4)
Next NU Event: Feb. 18, 2011 -- vs. UC Davis (San Diego Classic), 11 a.m. CT

TEMPE, Ariz. -- On getaway day Sunday at the Kajikawa Classic, Northwestern pulled away from North Texas with a four-run fifth inning to earn an 8-4 victory over the Mean Green.

With the win, Northwestern improves to 3-2 following the Kajikawa Classic, while North Texas now is 2-4 on the season.

Northwestern jumped on top immediately in the game. With one out, Kristin Scharkey (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza) reached on an error, ending up on second base. She moved to third on a rocket of a groundout by Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga), then came home when Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) delivered a single into left for a 1-0 NU lead.

Freshman Paige Tonz (Peoria, Ariz./Centennial) drew a one-out walk in the second, then moved to second on a nice slappy sacrifice by Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King). Emily Allard (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) then singled through the left side of the infield, but a great throw from the North Texas left fielder nailed Tonz at the plate to end the inning.

A two-out Mean Green rally in the bottom of the third knotted the game, 1-1. After a walk and single, the next batter crushed a double off the bottom of the wall in right to drive in one. The ball ricocheted off the wall so hard, Marisa Bast (Orange, Calif./Villa Park) ran out from second to grab it before turning and throwing out the trail runner at the plate to end the inning.

Northwestern answered back three pitches later when Bast crushed an opposite field home run -- the first of her career -- to lead off the fourth and put the Wildcats right back on top, 2-1.

The Mean Green refused to go away in the bottom of the fourth, turning a pair of Wildcat errors into another game tying run, making the score 2-2 heading to the fifth frame.

The Wildcats surged back into the lead in the top of the fifth. Thompson led off with an infield single before moving to third on a Scharkey one-out groundout. Monka then ripped a single into center to score Thompson and give NU the lead back, 3-2. Following Monka's knock, Batts shot a single into right field, and Lauren Ackerman (St. Louis, Mo./Lafayette) came in to run for Monka at second. Bast then was hit by a pitch to keep the two-out rally alive.

Mari Majam (Pine Valley, Calif./Mountain Empire) made the rally pay with a bases-clearing double to left, blasting NU's cushion in the game to four, 6-2.

Northwestern continued to pull away in the sixth. Pitcher Megan Lamberth (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) earned a base hit to lead off the frame for NU, then gave way to pinch runner Amanda Mehrsheikh (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central). A fielder's choice grounder from Tonz erased Mehrsheikh, but Tonz later came around to score on an Allard single to right after the throw back in bounded into the NU dugout for an error. Scharkey then followed with a single of her own to plate Allard and make it an 8-2 contest.

North Texas got one run back with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, but Lamberth made quick work of the subsequent batters to send the game to the seventh inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Mean Green mounted a serious rally. With a hit, an error and a hit by pitch, North Texas loaded the bases. A passed ball brought one run in, then Jessica Smith (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) came into the circle in relief. She fanned the first batter she faced, then got a groundout to end the game.

Lamberth (3-0) earned the win, throwing 6.1 innings and allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Smith threw 0.2 innings to pick up the save.

Northwestern returns to action next weekend, Feb. 18-20, at the San Diego Classic hosted by both San Diego and San Diego State

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