Michelle Batts, Northwestern Slam DePaul, 6-5

4/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball

April 5, 2011

Box Score

Site: Evanston, Ill. (Sharon J. Drysdale Field)
Score: Northwestern 6, DePaul 5
Records: NU (17-9), DePaul (20-11)
Next NU Event: April 6, 2011 -- vs. Northern Illinois (Sharon J. Drysdale Field), 4 p.m. CT

EVANSTON, Ill. -- A Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) fourth-inning grand slam put Northwestern in the lead for good Tuesday in a 6-5 win over DePaul at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.

Northwestern improves to 17-9 overall on the season with its win while DePaul falls to 20-11 overall with its loss.

DePaul got the scoring in the game off to a fast start, notching a pair of one-out infield singles off NU starter Jessica Smith (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) before a two-out single to right plated them both for an early 2-0 Blue Demon lead.

The Wildcats got a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the first via a Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) single and an Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) walk, but no runs came of it. In the bottom of the second, NU rallied again, beginning with a rocket of a double to the fence in center off the bat of Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North). Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) immediately pushed a single back through the middle to move Quinn to third. DePaul starter Kirsten Verdun, however, got a strikeout and a pair of groundouts to strand the Wildcats.

The Blue Demons then added to their total after a leadoff walk and double in the top of the third, pushing their edge to 4-0 after a throwing error on a steal attempt allowed one more run to come home.

Northwestern broke through on its third rally of the day. Thompson sizzled a single into center to start the frame, then took second on a wild pitch. Monka drove her in with a scorching single through the left side of the infield for NU's first run before giving way to pinch runner Lauren Ackerman (St. Louis, Mo./Home schooled) at first base. Ackerman stole second before moving to third on a Marisa Bast (Orange, Calif./Villa Park) infield single. Quinn then drove in Ackerman with her second single of the game -- this one off the glove of a diving shortstop -- to plate Ackerman and make it a 4-2 contest going into the fourth inning.

Smith needed just seven pitches to retire the Blue Demons in order in the fourth before the Wildcats again began putting runners on base again against a new pitcher, Bree Brown (5-4). Kristin Scharkey (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza) and Emily Allard (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) led off the frame with back-to-back singles, then one out later Brown hit Monka with a pitch to load the bases. Batts followed with a line drive that stayed high enough long enough to zoom over the fence in left for a grand slam and a 6-4 Northwestern lead.

Batts' blast was her sixth of the season and the 39th of her career. She now has 20 RBIs in NU's last 12 games. Even more fun for fans in attendance at the game, the home run came during Northwestern's fourth-inning grand slam promotion, meaning one lucky fan won an iPod after the shot.

DePaul put a runner on in the top of the sixth against Smith, but Allard bent low to grab a liner later in the inning before firing to first to help double that runner up with a great twin killing.

The leadoff Blue Demon in the seventh reached base against Smith, prompting head coach Kate Drohan to insert Sammy Albanese (Belmont, Calif./Castilleja) into the circle in relief. Albanese got a strikeout and a groundout before an error allowed a run to score and cut NU's lead to 6-5. The next batter up doubled down the left-field line to give DePaul runners at second and third, but Albanese fanned the final batter looking the close out the contest.

Smith (6-6) picked up the win, going 6.0 innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits and three walks with a K. Albanese went 1.0 inning of work for her second save, surrendering two hits and fanning a pair.

Quinn had a 2-for-3 day at the plate for NU while both Allard and Thompson were 2-for-4 at the bat. Batts drove in four runs for the Wildcats.

Northwestern returns to action at 4 p.m. CT tomorrow, Wednesday, April 6, against Northern Illinois at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. The game will be streamed live with high-definition video on a pay-per-view basis at BigTenNetwork.com.

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