Sunday, February 14
Tempe, Ariz.
12:15 p.m. CT/11:15 a.m. MT
Northwestern
3-2
3
vs
9
Oregon
4-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Northwestern
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
3
6
2
Oregon
0
0
0
4
5
0
X
9
8
0
No. 6 Oregon Comes Back, Defeats Northwestern, 9-3
2/14/2016 4:01:00 PM | Softball
TEMPE, Ariz. - Northwestern struck first, taking a 3-0 lead over No. 6 Oregon in the fourth inning Sunday at the Kajikawa Classic, but the Ducks struck last with a five-run fifth inning to earn a 9-3 decision over the Wildcats.
Northwestern concludes its Kajikawa Classic schedule with a 3-2 record, falling only to 2015 World Series participants No. 8 Tennessee and No. 6 Oregon. The Wildcats scored 50 runs in their five games at the tournament.
NU returns to action next Friday through Sunday, Feb. 19-21, with four games at the North Carolina site of the B1G/ACC Challenge.
A pitcher's duel erupted from the beginning between Oregon freshman Megan Kleist and Northwestern fifth-year senior Amy Letourneau. Kleist was perfect in her first trip through the NU order while Letourneau worked around a base runner in scoring position in each of the first three innings to send the game scoreless to the fourth, where the Wildcats bats went to work.
Sophomore Sabrina Rabin led off the inning with an infield single and moved to second on a perfect Morgan Nelson sacrifice bunt. Andrea Filler, Amy Letourneau and Sammy Nettling then all followed with singles of various shapes and sizes, scoring Rabin and Filler to give NU a 2-0 lead. Then, with two outs, Alcy Bush struck out swinging but the ball hit the dirt, and Bush took off for first. Apparently believing the bases to be loaded, the catcher picked up the ball and emphatically stomped on home plate before tossing the ball back into the circle, but with just two on it allowed Nettling to race home for a 3-0 NU lead.
Oregon's second trip through the order also fared much better than its first. A single, double and home run tied the game, and senior Kristen Wood entered in relief of Amy Letourneau. Wood retired the first batter she faced, but the next hit a solo home run to put the Ducks on top, 4-3.
Oregon brought its ace Cheridan Hawkins out into the circle to begin the fifth frame. Krista Williams greeted her immediately with a single, but the Ducks were able to erase her on a stolen base attempt and maintain their one-run lead to the bottom of the fifth, where Oregon took advantage of five walks and a Northwestern error to push across five runs. Midway through the rally, junior Nicole Bond replaced Wood in the circle and was able to record a pair of outs, but with the bases loaded and two down and the Ducks up 9-3, freshman Kenzie Ellis made her college debut in relief. Ellis notched a backward K to send the game to the sixth.
Filler led off the top of the sixth with a double and Nettling later joined her on base when she was hit by a pitch, but that was all NU could muster in the frame.
After Ellis kept Oregon scoreless again in the sixth, Williams was hit by a pitch to reach base with one out in the seventh, but the game ended there.
Letourneau went three-plus innings in the start, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk with a strikeout. Wood (1-1) took the loss with 1.0 inning of work, giving up four runs on three hits and a walk. Bond tosses two-thirds of an inning, allowing two runs (one earned), and Ellis went 1.1 of relief, allowing only a walk and striking out one.
Filler led Northwestern at the plate with a single and a double to cap a .563 weekend in which she slugged 1.375 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and 13 RBIs in five games played.
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
Northwestern concludes its Kajikawa Classic schedule with a 3-2 record, falling only to 2015 World Series participants No. 8 Tennessee and No. 6 Oregon. The Wildcats scored 50 runs in their five games at the tournament.
NU returns to action next Friday through Sunday, Feb. 19-21, with four games at the North Carolina site of the B1G/ACC Challenge.
A pitcher's duel erupted from the beginning between Oregon freshman Megan Kleist and Northwestern fifth-year senior Amy Letourneau. Kleist was perfect in her first trip through the NU order while Letourneau worked around a base runner in scoring position in each of the first three innings to send the game scoreless to the fourth, where the Wildcats bats went to work.
Sophomore Sabrina Rabin led off the inning with an infield single and moved to second on a perfect Morgan Nelson sacrifice bunt. Andrea Filler, Amy Letourneau and Sammy Nettling then all followed with singles of various shapes and sizes, scoring Rabin and Filler to give NU a 2-0 lead. Then, with two outs, Alcy Bush struck out swinging but the ball hit the dirt, and Bush took off for first. Apparently believing the bases to be loaded, the catcher picked up the ball and emphatically stomped on home plate before tossing the ball back into the circle, but with just two on it allowed Nettling to race home for a 3-0 NU lead.
Oregon's second trip through the order also fared much better than its first. A single, double and home run tied the game, and senior Kristen Wood entered in relief of Amy Letourneau. Wood retired the first batter she faced, but the next hit a solo home run to put the Ducks on top, 4-3.
Oregon brought its ace Cheridan Hawkins out into the circle to begin the fifth frame. Krista Williams greeted her immediately with a single, but the Ducks were able to erase her on a stolen base attempt and maintain their one-run lead to the bottom of the fifth, where Oregon took advantage of five walks and a Northwestern error to push across five runs. Midway through the rally, junior Nicole Bond replaced Wood in the circle and was able to record a pair of outs, but with the bases loaded and two down and the Ducks up 9-3, freshman Kenzie Ellis made her college debut in relief. Ellis notched a backward K to send the game to the sixth.
Filler led off the top of the sixth with a double and Nettling later joined her on base when she was hit by a pitch, but that was all NU could muster in the frame.
After Ellis kept Oregon scoreless again in the sixth, Williams was hit by a pitch to reach base with one out in the seventh, but the game ended there.
Letourneau went three-plus innings in the start, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk with a strikeout. Wood (1-1) took the loss with 1.0 inning of work, giving up four runs on three hits and a walk. Bond tosses two-thirds of an inning, allowing two runs (one earned), and Ellis went 1.1 of relief, allowing only a walk and striking out one.
Filler led Northwestern at the plate with a single and a double to cap a .563 weekend in which she slugged 1.375 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and 13 RBIs in five games played.
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kleist, Megan (2-0)
L: Wood, Kristen (1-1)
S: Hawkins, Cheridan (1)
Batting:
2B: Filler, Andrea 1
RBI: Letourneau, Amy 1 ; Nettling, Sammy 1
SH: Nelson, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rabin, Sabrina 1 ; Filler, Andrea 1 ; Strub, Fran 1
SB: Filler, Andrea 1
CS: Williams, Krista 1
HBP: Nettling, Sammy 1 ; Williams, Krista 1
Batting:
2B: Costa, Koral 1 ; Bishop, Madi 1
HR: Glasco, Geri Ann 1 ; Udria, Nikki 1
RBI: Utecht, April 1 ; Svekis, Gwen 1 ; Costa, Koral 1 ; Glasco, Geri Ann 2 ; Udria, Nikki 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mercado, Danica 1 ; Kaboli-Nejad, Darya 1 ; Svekis, Gwen 1 ; Burks, Cherish 1 ; Costa, Koral 2 ; Glasco, Geri Ann 1 ; Puentes, Sammie 1 ; Udria, Nikki 1
SB: Burks, Cherish 1
HBP: Lindvall, Janelle 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
p/dp
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballP/1B
/ Softball
IF/C
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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