Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, March 18
Clearwater, Fla.
3:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. ET
Northwestern
8-12
10
vs
0
Quinnipiac University
6-11
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Quinnipiac
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
3
Northwestern
0
2
3
5
X
10
6
1
Photo by: Stephen J. Carrera
Northwestern Outpolls Quinnipiac, 10-0 (5)
3/18/2016 5:27:00 PM | Softball
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Northwestern got Spring Break 2016 off to a hot start Friday afternoon at the USF Clearwater Spring Break Tournament, run-ruling Quinnipiac, 10-0 (5).
Northwestern now is 8-12 overall on the season while Quinnipiac falls to 6-11. NU returns to action immediately against LIU-Brooklyn at the USF Clearwater Spring Break Tournament.
The Bobcats threatened in each of the first two innings, but both times the Wildcats were up to the task on defense. In the first, Marissa Panko sniffed out a squeeze attempt on a bunt and deftly flipped to Caylor Arnold at the plate for an out before, in the second, freshman starter Kenzie Ellis was able to strand a leadoff double at third base.
Northwestern used aggression on the base paths in the bottom of the second to take a 2-0 lead against Quinnipiac without the benefit of a hit. Both Amy Letourneau and Anna Petersen reached base via leadoff walks, with senior Fran Strub taking over for Letourneau. After an error on a sacrifice attempt put Strub at third with one out, Petersen stole second for the first stolen base of her career. Sophomore Brooke Marquez then hit a ball toward first and the throw came home, but the veteran Strub slid around the tag to score the 46th pinch run of her career and put NU on top in the game.
With Petersen on third and two outs, the junior swiped home when Marquez perfectly executed a delayed steal between first and second, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 edge on pure base running.
In the third, Northwestern extended on Quinnipiac. Sabrina Rabin was hit by a pitch to start the frame and junior Abbey Boyd came in to run in the situation. She then motored around to third when Andrea Filler smoked a two-hop grounder toward the shortstop that hit an old Civil War landmine and bounced OVER the shortstop's head for a double. Back-to-back walks to Letourneau and Petersen forced Boyd home, then an Alcy Bush sacrifice fly and a Marquez single brought two more in for a 5-0 NU advantage heading to the fourth.
The Bobcats got a runner to third for the fourth-straight inning in the fourth, and for the fourth-straight time Ellis stranded her there. The Wildcats took advantage to put an exclamation point on the game. Ellis flexed into the lineup to lead off the bottom half of the frame and reached on an error, then took second on a Panko infield single. After Ellis was erased at third on a pinch-hit fielder's choice from freshman Morgan Nelson, junior Krista Williams reached on a bunt single to the pitcher, and the hurler threw the ball away allowing Panko to score. Filler then walked and Letourneau ripped a two-run single to center to push the game into run-rule territory, 8-0.
Marquez put the finishing touches on the five-run rally with a two-run single to the left side of the infield, making the score 10-0.
In the top of the fifth, freshman Kaley Winegarner entered the circle in relief. The first batter worked a full-count walk before Winegarner retired the next three batters in a row.
The freshmen hurlers Ellis (2-2) and Winegarner combined for NU's first shutout of the year in the circle. Ellis went 4.0 innings, allowing just three hits with a strikeout. Winegarner gave up just a walk in the fifth.
Marquez led NU in the game with four RBIs on a 2-for-3 day at the plate. Letourneau scored two runs and drove in two while Petersen also scored twice.
Northwestern now is 8-12 overall on the season while Quinnipiac falls to 6-11. NU returns to action immediately against LIU-Brooklyn at the USF Clearwater Spring Break Tournament.
The Bobcats threatened in each of the first two innings, but both times the Wildcats were up to the task on defense. In the first, Marissa Panko sniffed out a squeeze attempt on a bunt and deftly flipped to Caylor Arnold at the plate for an out before, in the second, freshman starter Kenzie Ellis was able to strand a leadoff double at third base.
Northwestern used aggression on the base paths in the bottom of the second to take a 2-0 lead against Quinnipiac without the benefit of a hit. Both Amy Letourneau and Anna Petersen reached base via leadoff walks, with senior Fran Strub taking over for Letourneau. After an error on a sacrifice attempt put Strub at third with one out, Petersen stole second for the first stolen base of her career. Sophomore Brooke Marquez then hit a ball toward first and the throw came home, but the veteran Strub slid around the tag to score the 46th pinch run of her career and put NU on top in the game.
With Petersen on third and two outs, the junior swiped home when Marquez perfectly executed a delayed steal between first and second, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 edge on pure base running.
In the third, Northwestern extended on Quinnipiac. Sabrina Rabin was hit by a pitch to start the frame and junior Abbey Boyd came in to run in the situation. She then motored around to third when Andrea Filler smoked a two-hop grounder toward the shortstop that hit an old Civil War landmine and bounced OVER the shortstop's head for a double. Back-to-back walks to Letourneau and Petersen forced Boyd home, then an Alcy Bush sacrifice fly and a Marquez single brought two more in for a 5-0 NU advantage heading to the fourth.
The Bobcats got a runner to third for the fourth-straight inning in the fourth, and for the fourth-straight time Ellis stranded her there. The Wildcats took advantage to put an exclamation point on the game. Ellis flexed into the lineup to lead off the bottom half of the frame and reached on an error, then took second on a Panko infield single. After Ellis was erased at third on a pinch-hit fielder's choice from freshman Morgan Nelson, junior Krista Williams reached on a bunt single to the pitcher, and the hurler threw the ball away allowing Panko to score. Filler then walked and Letourneau ripped a two-run single to center to push the game into run-rule territory, 8-0.
Marquez put the finishing touches on the five-run rally with a two-run single to the left side of the infield, making the score 10-0.
In the top of the fifth, freshman Kaley Winegarner entered the circle in relief. The first batter worked a full-count walk before Winegarner retired the next three batters in a row.
The freshmen hurlers Ellis (2-2) and Winegarner combined for NU's first shutout of the year in the circle. Ellis went 4.0 innings, allowing just three hits with a strikeout. Winegarner gave up just a walk in the fifth.
Marquez led NU in the game with four RBIs on a 2-for-3 day at the plate. Letourneau scored two runs and drove in two while Petersen also scored twice.
••••••
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ellis, Kenzie (2-2)
L: Robey (3-5)
Batting:
2B: Magana 1
SH: Dennis 1
Base Running:
HBP: Heimbach 2
Batting:
2B: Filler, Andrea 1
RBI: Letourneau, Amy 2 ; Petersen, Anna 1 ; Bush, Alcy 1 ; Marquez, Brooke 4
SF: Bush, Alcy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Boyd, Abbey 1 ; Nelson, Morgan 1 ; Williams, Krista 1 ; Filler, Andrea 1 ; Letourneau, Amy 2 ; Strub, Fran 1 ; Petersen, Anna 2 ; Panko, Marissa 1
SB: Williams, Krista 1 ; Petersen, Anna 2
HBP: Rabin, Sabrina 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
4
rf/lf
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
2
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballP/1B
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
IF/C
/ Softball
IF/OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
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