Wildcats Beat Back Beavers, 8-4

2/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Feb. 26, 2011

Box Score

Site: Cathedral City, Calif. (Big League Dreams Wrigley Field)
Score: Northwestern 8, Oregon State 4
Records: NU (7-4), Oregon State (5-3)
Next NU Event: Feb. 27, 2011 -- vs. No. 2 UCLA (Cathedral City Classic), 11 a.m. CT

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- In a back-and-forth game Saturday afternoon at the Cathedral City Classic, Northwestern got a pair of two-out runs in the fifth inning before pulling away to an 8-4 win over Oregon State.

With the win, Northwestern improves to 7-4 on the season, 3-1 at the Cathedral City Classic. Oregon State falls to 5-3 with its loss.

Northwestern jumped on top right away thanks to back-to-back solo home runs by Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) and Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) in the bottom of the first. Monka's blast was her fifth of the season and the 36th of her career. Batts' shot was her first of the year and the 34th of her career.

In the bottom of the second, Oregon State took advantage of two Northwestern errors to hang three unearned runs on Wildcats' starter Meghan Lamberth (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette). The sophomore rung up the last batter looking to strand runners at second and third, keeping NU within a run, 3-2, heading to the third.

Northwestern fought back right away in the top of the third. Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) led off with a sharp single to left, eventually moving to third on back-to-back two-out walks to Monka and Batts. Marisa Bast (Orange, Calif./Villa Park) then drew a full-count walk to force Wheeler home and knot the game before NU took the lead, 4-3, when Mari Majam (Pine Valley, Calif./Mountain Empire) was hit by a pitch. Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) made a bid to add more to the lead, but her hard liner was right at the shortstop to end the frame.

Oregon State did not go quietly, leading off its half of the third with a triple over the first-base bag. After a Lamberth strikeout, the next batter hit a ball into right off the end of her bat to tie the score again, 4-4.

In the top of the fourth, Oregon State inserted Tina Andreana (0-1) into the circle in place of starter Marina Demore. Emily Allard (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) notched a two-out single, but that was all NU could do in Andreana's debut inning.

Northwestern got to the new Beaver hurler in the top of the fifth. Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) crushed a single off the shins of the third baseman to lead off the frame before moving to second when a Monka grounder was mishandled for an error. Amanda Mehrsheikh (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central) entered to run for Monka at first, then Batts walked for the second time in the game to load the bases.

Oregon State got a pair of outs before Quinn stepped to the plate and dumped a two-out single into left to score both Mehrsheikh and Batts from second, giving Northwestern the 6-4 lead before the frame ended.

In the bottom of the fifth, the leadoff batter reached via a walk, prompting head coach Kate Drohan to insert Sammy Albanese (Belmont, Calif./Castilleja) into the circle in relief of Lamberth. Catcher Paige Tonz (Peoria, Ariz./Centennial) caught the runner stealing for the first out, then Albanese set down the next two to end the frame.

Monka earned a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh, then moved to third when Batts singled to left and the fielder mishandled the ball. Batts ended up at second on the play, then gave the base to pinch runner Kristin Scharkey (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza). Monka came in to score and Scharkey went to third on a wild pitch, then an error on a batted ball by Bast brought Scharkey to the plate to extend the NU cushion to four, 8-4.

Majam sacrificed Bast to second, then Quinn walked to prompt Oregon State to make another pitching change. That worked, getting the Beavers out of the inning.

Albanese allowed a leadoff single in the seventh, but shut down Oregon State from there to close out the game.

Lamberth (6-0) earned the win, going 4.0 innings and allowing four runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Albanese picked up her first-career save with 3.0 innings of work, allowing no runs and one hit with three strikeouts.

Northwestern concludes its 2011 Cathedral City Classic schedule at 11 a.m. CT tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 27, against No. 2 UCLA.

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