No. 20 Fresno State Shocks Northwestern in Extras, 6-4

2/27/2016 5:52:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

CATHEDRAL CITY, CALIF. – For the second-straight game Saturday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Northwestern held a lead on a top-20 opponent going into the seventh inning only to see the foe storm back for a win. This time, No. 20 Fresno State scored once in the seventh before topping NU, 6-4, in eight innings.

Fresno State now is 11-1 win its win while Northwestern falls to 6-7. The Wildcats earlier had a two-run lead against No. 8 Georgia in the seventh before those Bulldogs also came back for a 5-4 win over the Wildcats.

Northwestern has another bite at the apple at 11 a.m. CT/9 a.m. PT tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 28, against No. 11 UCLA.

The game never would have been this close without two amazing defensive plays from Fresno State to rob home runs off the bats of two different Wildcats, saving three runs in the process.

Northwestern nearly took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the first, but Fresno State's centerfielder made a spectacular play. With two outs and Krista Williams at second after reaching on an error, Amy Letourneau crushed a ball to dead center. The fielder patrolling that area raced back to the fence, reached over and caught the ball before crashing through the barrier to steal a home run away from Letourneau and keep the contest scoreless.

In the bottom of the second, sophomore Brooke Marquez singled with one out and remained at first base when, with two outs, senior Caylor Arnold shot a double through the third baseman and down the line in left. It rattled around down in the corner long enough to allow Marquez to come all the way around and give Northwestern a 1-0 lead.

The lead did not last long when the leadoff batter for Fresno State in the third homered to center to knot the score, 1-1. Northwestern starter Kristen Wood retired the next three Bulldogs in a row, however, getting some help on the third out on a diving Sabrina Rabin catch in center.

After a two-on, no-out rally for Northwestern in the bottom of the third died on the vine, Fresno State led off the top of the fourth with another solo home run to take a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Aubrie May led off with a double that hit the very tippy top of the outfield fence, mere inches away from the second home run of her career. One out later, however, freshman Morgan Nelson gave the Wildcats the bolt they were looking for with a two-run blast to left, putting NU back on top, 3-2. The home run was the third of Nelson's young career.

Wood earned a shutdown 1-2-3 fifth after the NU rally, then stranded a runner in scoring position in the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, Marquez hit a deep fly to left that was caught at the fence with a leap, robbing yet another home run from the Wildcats and keeping the contest a one-run game going into the seventh.

In that top of the seventh, Wood notched her seventh strikeout of the game against the leadoff pinch hitter. The next pinch hitter, however, doubled and then a Northwestern error put runners at the corners with one out. Head coach Kate Drohan inserted freshman Kaley Winegarner into the circle in relief of Wood, and the first batter drew a walk to load the bases. Winegarner then fanned a Bulldog, but a walk forced home the tying run before the rally ended.

Northwestern got a Brianna LeBeau pinch-hit single in the bottom of the seventh and nothing more, sending the game to the eighth. With the international tiebreak rule in effect and a runner at second base to start the frame, the first two Bulldogs to the plate hit home runs to stake Fresno State to a 6-3 lead.

Rabin started the bottom of the eighth on second for Northwestern and moved to third when Williams singled. Andrea Filler lifted a fly ball to center that was deep enough to score Rabin, but that was where the rally ended.

Winegarner (1-1) took the loss in relief, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and two walks with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning. Wood tossed 6.1 innings in the start, also allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. Letourneau threw one scoreless inning of relief with a K.