Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
23-19, 11-7
Ohio State University
26-20, 9-10
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Springer, Lena (6-5)
L: Duehr, Olivia (0-2)
S: O'Reilly, Olivia (3)
Batting:
2B: Conrad, Caitlin 1 ; Kirk, Anna 1 ; White, Taylor 1
HR: McIntyre, Maddy 1 ; Clough, Cassidy 1 ; Leonard, Erika 1 ; Watkins, Taylor 1
RBI: Conrad, Caitlin 2 ; McIntyre, Maddy 2 ; Clough, Cassidy 3 ; Leonard, Erika 3 ; Watkins, Taylor 4 ; Kirk, Anna 2 ; Nester, Keelia 1 ; Saibene, Jayla 1
SF: Conrad, Caitlin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Conrad, Caitlin 1 ; Prantl, Cammi 2 ; McIntyre, Maddy 4 ; Clough, Cassidy 1 ; Leonard, Erika 2 ; Watkins, Taylor 3 ; Bayne, Alex 2 ; White, Taylor 2 ; Nester, Keelia 2 ; Saibene, Jayla 1
SB: Conrad, Caitlin 1
HBP: Conrad, Caitlin 1 ; Prantl, Cammi 2 ; Leonard, Erika 1
Batting:
2B: LeBeau, Brianna 1 ; Kuhn, Julia 1 ; Duehr, Olivia 1
3B: Marquez, Brooke 1
HR: Filler, Andrea 1 ; Nettling, Sammy 1 ; Duehr, Olivia 1
RBI: Rabin, Sabrina 1 ; DiPrima, Andrea 1 ; Filler, Andrea 5 ; Nettling, Sammy 2 ; LeBeau, Brianna 2 ; Kuhn, Julia 3 ; Duehr, Olivia 3
SF: Filler, Andrea 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rabin, Sabrina 3 ; DiPrima, Andrea 2 ; Filler, Andrea 1 ; Nettling, Sammy 3 ; LeBeau, Brianna 2 ; Williams, Krista 1 ; Duehr, Olivia 1 ; Edwards, Anna 1 ; Boyd, Abbey 1 ; Marquez, Brooke 2
SB: Rabin, Sabrina 1 ; Edwards, Anna 1
HBP: Edwards, Anna 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Epic, Two-Day Game Goes to Ohio State, 20-17
4/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In a game that took two days to finish and nearly that many scorebooks, Ohio State and Northwestern battled through a back-and-forth offense battle for the ages that the Buckeyes won in the end, 20-17.
The teams began Saturday before a rain delay interrupted things in the second inning, eventually forcing an overnight delay that lasted 21 hours, 48 minutes. The score was 4-3 in the bottom of the second when play was suspended; 30 more runs were scored in Saturday's completion of play. At one point, NU found itself down 10-4 before storming all the way back to take a 14-12 lead. The last eight runs scored by OSU all were unearned, thanks in part to six total errors in the game for Northwestern.
Northwestern (23-19, 11-7 Big Ten) and Ohio State (26-20, 9-10 Big Ten) conclude their series immediately with the regularly scheduled Sunday Senior Day contest.
In the top of the first, Ohio State took the game's first lead with a two-out, two-run home run, eventually stretching its edge to 3-0. Olivia Duehr (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) entered the circle in relief with two outs in the frame, and got the final out to send things to the Wildcats' first at-bats -- where NU immediately tied the game.
Sabrina Rabin (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) walked to begin the rally, then stole second. Later, with two outs, Sammy Nettling (Tucson, Ariz./Canyon del Oro) drew a walk to join Rabin on base. Brianna LeBeau (Worth, Ill./H.L. Richards) entered the game as a pinch hitter and hit a towering fly ball to center that confused the fielders to the point it fell in between a triangle of Buckeyes for a two-run double. Julia Kuhn (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) then singled to right to bring LeBeau sliding home to knot the score, 3-3.
Ohio State put runners at second and third with one out in the top of the second before Fran Strub (Coralville, Iowa/Clear Creek Amana) made an outstanding inning-ending play in left. After entering the game as a defensive replacement when Duehr moved into the circle, Strub was patrolling left when a shallow fly came her way. She dove forward and caught the ball with the glove on the grass in such unbelievable fashion that the runner at third already had taken off for the plate. Strub calmly tossed to senior Anna Edwards (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) at third to double her off and end the inning.
Edwards led off the bottom of the second with a walk and then stole second base. One out later, Rabin beat out an infield single and senior Andrea DiPrima (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) singled to center to load the bases. Andrea Filler (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger) then received a walk to push Edwards home and give NU the lead, 4-3.
At that moment, a light drizzle turned into a persistent rain, sending the tarp crew onto the field and the game into a delay -- that lasted until 11 a.m. the next morning. When the game resumed, Nettling crushed a line drive to right field that was caught on the run. The fielder then hustled a throw back in to first to double off the runner and end the inning.
Ohio State took advantage, scoring five runs in its half of the third inning before plating two more in the fourth to build a 10-4 lead.
Northwestern got back aboard the scoring train in the bottom of the fourth. Edwards was hit by the first pitch of the inning, and Abbey Boyd (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) entered to run for her. Three-straight singles followed from Brooke Marquez (Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica), Rabin and DiPrima brought Boyd home and loaded the bases for Filler, who lifted her NCAA-leading ninth sacrifice fly of the year to right field to score Rabin. Nettling then singled to plate Marquez before, with two outs, Kuhn boomed a double to right field to bring NU all the way back within a single run, 10-9, entering the fifth inning.
The Wildcats were able to retire the first two Buckeyes to the plate in the top of the fifth, but then a hit batter preceded a home run to put Ohio State back in front by three, 12-9. OSU elected to replace its starting pitcher Lena Springer with Shelby Hursh to start the bottom half, and NU greeted her rudely. With one out, Marquez tripled to right field and scored on a Rabin single. DiPrima walked, then Filler smashed a soaring three-run home run to left to put NU back on top in the game with her 11th home run of the year.
After the homer, Springer came back into the circle to pitch, and Nettling brutalized the first pitch she threw high off the wall of McGaw Hall for back-to-back #B1GCats jacks and a 14-12 lead in the game. Nettling's homer was her sixth of the season.
An error in the top of the sixth set the stage for four unearned Ohio State runs, with the big blow coming on a two-out, pinch-hit, three-run home run to put the Buckeyes back out in front by two, 16-14.
In the bottom of the sixth, history was made (as if this offensive showcase wasn't history enough) when Duehr smashed a leadoff solo home run onto the roof of McGaw Hall, becoming the first and only player in the more than 30-year history of Sharon J. Drysdale Field to becoming a three-time Roof Club member.
With the score now 16-15 in favor of Ohio State, Edwards drew a walk and OSU went to game one starter Olivia O'Reilly in the circle. A wild pitch moved Edwards to second and a groundout pushed her to third with two outs, but she was stranded there.
Two more Wildcats errors in the top of the seventh led to four unearned Ohio State runs, giving the Buckeyes at 20-15 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Filler had a leadoff single and Kuhn reached on a two-out error. After an illegal pitch moved both up, Krista Williams (Pleasanton, Calif./Amador Valley) entered to run for Kuhn. Duehr then powered a double into the right-center to bring the score to 20-17.
Duehr (0-2) took the loss in the circle, throwing all but the first two-thirds of an inning which were tossed by starter Amy Letourneau (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic). Only eight of the runs Duehr surrendered in the game were earned.
At the plate, Filler had a pair of hits and drove in a game-best five runs. Rabin went 3-for-4 with three runs, DiPrima had a pair of hits and a pair of runs scored, Nettling had two hits, two RBIs and three runs scored, Kuhn knocked in a trio on a pair of hits, Marquez had two hits and two runs scored, Duehr had two hits and three RBIs, and Lebeau drove in a pair.
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