Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
11-16, 0-2
Nebraska
18-12, 2-0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hagemann, Ashley (13-10)
L: Lamberth, Meghan (5-7)
Batting:
RBI: Majam, Mari 1 ; Monka, Adrienne 2 ; Duehr, Olivia 1 ; Albanese, Sammy 1 ; Edwards, Anna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Allard, Emily 1 ; Majam, Mari 1 ; Monka, Adrienne 1 ; Letourneau, Amy 1 ; Edwards, Anna 1 ; Scharkey, Kristin 1
SB: Allard, Emily 1 ; Scharkey, Kristin 1
Batting:
2B: Edwards, Tatum 1 ; Guile, Ashley 1
RBI: Haget, Nikki 1 ; Edwards, Taylor 1 ; Edwards, Tatum 2 ; Guile, Ashley 2
SH: Breault, Courtney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Edwards, Taylor 2 ; Thomason, Brooke 1 ; Edwards, Tatum 1 ; Fowler, Mattie 1 ; Drake, Madison 2
HBP: Banda, Gabby 1 ; Breault, Courtney 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Northwestern Rally Falls Short at Nebraska, 7-6
3/24/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Northwestern now is 11-16 on the season following the loss, 0-2 in the Big Ten. Nebraska improves to 18-12 on the year with its win, 2-0 in the conference.
One day after scoring more runs on Nebraska than the Huskers had given up in their previous seven games combined, Northwestern jumped right back on the scoreboard to open Saturday's doubleheader, sending nine batters to the plate. Junior Emily Allard (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) led off the game with a single, then quickly stole second base. Sophomore Mari Majam (Pine Valley, Calif./Mountain Empire) and senior Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) followed with walks against Nebraska starter Ashley Hagemann to load the bases with no outs.
After the Huskers got the first out of the inning, Olivia Duehr (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) hit a grounder to short. The fielder brought the throw home, but there was no hope of beating the fleet-footed Allard to the plate, allowing the Wildcats to take a 1-0 lead on the fielder's choice. Sammy Albanese (Belmont, Calif./Castilleja) then took a five-pitch walk to force Majam across the dish. After the second out of the inning, Anna Edwards (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) hit a grounder deep in the hole at short that was kept on the dirt but not in time to make a play on anyone, pushing the NU lead to 3-0 when Monka scored before the top of the first ended.
Nebraska responded with an inning of its own, tying the game at 3-3 with a two-out rally started by an 11-pitch walk and followed by a single, an error and a two-run double against NU starter Meghan Lamberth (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette). Two of the outs in the inning came on phenomenal Majam catches of foul outs in left field. The first was a full layout dive to snare a ball in front of her and the second ended the inning after she gloved the ball simultaneous to slamming into the tarp.
The Wildcats put together a two-out rally of their own in the top of the second, loading the bases on a pair of walks and a fielder's choice ball that did not result in an out. Albanese then crushed a liner to right, but the fielder drop stepped and caught up to it just in front of the track to end the inning.
The offenses continued to hum in the bottom of the second when Nebraska took a 5-3 lead on a bases-loaded, two-out double.
In the top of the third, Lamberth and Edwards led off with walks before Kristin Scharkey (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza) reached on an error to load the bases with no outs (the fifth-consecutive half inning to start the game in which the bases were loaded). Unfortunately, the next batter hit a comebacker to the circle that resulted in a double play before a Majam liner shot right to the third baseman to end the inning with no NU runs across.
After NU inserted Albanes into the circle to start the third, a leadoff error contributed to two more Huskers' runs before the inning ended with a nice line drive catch by Marisa Bast (Orange, Calif./Villa Park) at third and a tall flyout grab by Duehr in right.
Now trailing 7-3, Northwestern loaded the bases for the fourth-straight inning in the fourth. With one out, Bast shot a single through the left-side hole before Duehr and Albanese earned walks. Hagemann was able to strike out the next two Wildcats to the plate, however, to stop a Wildcats' bases-loaded rally with no runs for the third time in the game.
Both pitchers settled in to put zeroes on the board after the third. In the top of the seventh, Northwestern attempted a game-tying rally. Freshman Amy Letourneau (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) -- a pinch hitter -- and Edwards led off the frame with back-to-back walks before an error on a Scharkey grounder loaded the bags with no outs.
Allard then got ahold of a pitch and shot it out to center, but it was directly at the fielder for the first out. Majam then grounded out to the shortstop, pushing everyone up a bag and Letourneau across the plate to make it 7-4. Monka then pushed a single out into centerfield to bring in Edwards and Scharkey to cut the deficit all the way down to one, 7-6. Pinch runner Amanda Mehrsheikh (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central) entered to run for Monka, but the comeback ended there.
Lamberth (5-7) took the loss, allowing five runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks in 2.0 innings. Albanese tossed 4.0 innings in relief, giving up two runs (one earned) on a hit and four walks with one strikeout.
Northwestern drew 11 total walks in the game and Monka led the Wildcats at the plate with a pair of RBIs.
Northwestern and Nebraska conclude their three-game series immediately today at Bowlin Stadium.
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