Sun Sets on Northwestern's 2016 Season, 3-2 (9)

Saturday, May 21

Athens, Ga.

5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET

Northwestern

27-28

Oklahoma State

31-25

Oklahoma State

Northwestern

Sun Sets on Northwestern's 2016 Season, 3-2 (9)

5/21/2016 9:27:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

ATHENS, Ga. – In a microcosm of the 2016 season as a whole, Northwestern was knocked down several times Saturday night in an elimination game against Oklahoma State in the NCAA Athens Regional only to respond each time, sending the contest into extras where the Cowgirls eked out a ninth-inning run to end the Wildcats' postseason, 3-2 (9).

Northwestern concludes the year with a 27-28 overall record while Oklahoma State (31-25) advances to face No. 16 seed Georgia in the Regional final Sunday afternoon.

Northwestern advanced to Saturday's action by defeating Oklahoma State, 2-1, in Friday's opening round, but fell to Georgia 5-2 in the winner's bracket contest prior to Saturday evening's elimination game.

Making her first-career NCAA Tournament start, freshman Kenzie Ellis brought the excitement in the top of the first inning. Two walks and an error loaded the bags for Oklahoma State with one out; Ellis calmly got a pop-out to senior Andrea Filler at short before a dominating three-pitch strikeout stranded all three Cowgirls on base.

Oklahoma State did it again in the top of the second, though this time Amy Letourneau entered the circle in relief once the bases were juiced with one gone. The first batter hit a comebacker that Letourneau athletically moved to her left to glove before pivoting, turning her body back to the right and firing home where Caylor Arnold stretched to make the catch. A perfect called strike three pitch left 'em loaded for the second straight frame.

It was the Cowgirls turn on defense in the bottom half. Letourneau was struck by a pitch to lead off, then sacrificed to second. Brooke Marquez followed with a screaming line drive to second that was caught too quickly for Letourneau to return to second, where she was doubled off to end the inning.

Northwestern stranded two more Oklahoma State runners in the third frame, but OSU was finally able to break through in the fourth, turning a couple of early-inning singles into a run on a fielder's choice grounder. The 1-0 deficit could have been much larger for the Wildcats, but junior Krista Williams came racing in out of nowhere on a ball into the left-centerfield gap and made a flying leap to snare it.

The Wildcats rallied immediately. Hours after having her 12-game hitting streak broken in NU's winner's bracket loss to No. 16 seed Georgia earlier on Saturday, Sabrina Rabin led off the fourth with a single. She swiped her 40^th bag of the season, then Morgan Nelson joined her on base via a walk.

Filler started NU's scoring in the game with a single back through the middle, bringing Rabin around to the plate and pushing Nelson to third. Filler would steal second herself, but this time it was Oklahoma State's turn to escape a big rally. Starter Shea Coats got a pop-up on the infield, a foul pop out and a strikeout to leave those two Wildcats in scoring position and the game knotted, 1-1, to the fifth inning.

In the top of the sixth, Oklahoma State put its first two batters aboard and sacrificed them up a bag. The Cowgirls then executed a perfect squeeze bunt to regain the lead, 2-1. Later in the frame, Oklahoma State loaded the bases yet again with two outs, and Letourneau got a strikeout to run the OSU left on base total to 13 for the contest.

With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Coats hit Filler with a pitch. During a Letourneau walk, a wild pitch and a passed ball moved Filler up to third. Abbey Boyd entered to run for Letourneau while junior Anna Petersen strode to the plate as a pinch hitter. Petersen skied a fly ball to deep left, easily deep enough for Filler to race home and tie the game, 2-2.

The inning continued with singles from Marquez and Strub, the second of which was served softly into center. Boyd sprinted around third and slid into the plate, but was called out on an exceptionally close play to keep the contest knotted into the seventh.

Letourneau responded to the NU rally with a huge effort in the circle, striking out the first two batters she faced before a grounder to Alcy Bush at first concluded a 1-2-3 top of the frame.

Bush started the bottom of the seventh by drawing a full-count walk. Marissa Panko entered to pinch run for her, while Oklahoma State elected to bring Kacy Freeze into the game in relief of Coats. Freeze pitched every inning of the Cowgirls' Friday loss to NU and Saturday win against Maine before entering in relief in this situation.

Williams greeted her with a perfect bunt that ended up as a single instead of a sacrifice, pushing Panko to second. Oklahoma State bore down and got the lead out at third for the first out of the frame, then a strikeout and a line drive right to the shortstop to send the contest into extras.

Both teams went down in order in the eighth, then Oklahoma State put its first two runners to the plate aboard in the ninth. They were sacrificed up a bag before, with two outs, an error on the infield allowed the go-ahead run to score.

After rallying all season long, including finishing the year on a 15-5 run to even qualify for postseason play, Northwestern's 2016 campaign ran out of gas.

Letourneau (15-11) took the loss, going 7.2 innings of relief in her longest outing of the year. She gave up just three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in a gutty, gutty effort. Ellis threw 1.1 frames in the start, giving up no runs on two hits and two walks with two Ks.

The contest marked the final in Purple for seniors Arnold, Filler, Brianna LeBeau, Letourneau, Aubrie May, Strub and Kristen Wood.

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