Bond Tosses 2-Hitter But No. 6 Gophers Eke Out 3-2 Win Over Wildcats

4/15/2017 3:05:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

MINNEAPOLIS – Senior Nicole Bond threw a terrific two-hitter Saturday afternoon at No. 6 Minnesota, but the Gophers were able to break a tie with an unearned run in the fifth to eke out a win over Northwestern, 3-2.

Northwestern now is 16-22 on the year, 3-8 in the Big Ten. Minnesota improves to 37-3, 10-1 in the league.

The Wildcats and Gophers conclude their series at noon CT tomorrow, Sunday, April 16. The game will be streamed live on BTN Plus.

Bond (3-7) took an exceptionally hard luck loss, holding a squad that entered the day batting .349 on the season to just two hits, but both were solo home runs. She also walked scattered four walks while fanning one. The outing was her best since chucking a 1-hit shutout over Illinois as a freshman in 2014.

The game looked to be going a different direction when the first five Northwestern batters to the plate reached against Minnesota starter Amber Fiser, and the Wildcats could have put much more than a two-spot on the board if not for an incredible defensive play from the Gophers. Sabrina Rabin started it by fouling her way into a full-count walk before Krista Williams singled and Marissa Panko reached on a third-strike wild pitch to load the bases. Anna Petersen then dumped a single into right field to drive in Rabin and eventually Williams as well when the right fielder kicked the ball, giving NU a 2-0 lead.

Kenzie Ellis walked to re-load the bases, then Brooke Marquez blasted a line drive toward right. The first baseman dove and made a full-extension grab before quickly flipping to the second baseman covering at first to double off Ellis and put a screeching halt on the big NU surge.

The Gophers got one run back right away with a solo home run against Wildcats starter Bond in the bottom of the first.

Northwestern had the better chances after the first, putting two on in the second and getting a screaming Sammy Nettling double in the fourth, but was unable to cash in on either of those chances. Meanwhile, Bond was outstanding to the point of needing just six pitches to complete a 1-2-3 bottom of the third.

The Gophers knotted the score, however, in the fourth on another solo home run -- just their second hit overall in the game. In the fifth, a walk and an error put two Gophers on base with nobody out. Later, with one away and those runners at second and third, the throw home on a fielder's choice grounder was just a touch too late, allowing the go-ahead run to score. To her credit, Bond kept the deficit at just a single run with a foul out and a pop out, sending the game to the sixth with NU trailing, 3-2.

Marquez worked a one-out walk for NU in the sixth in a bid for a response rally before Lily Novak hit a ball hard back up the middle. Minnesota's second baseman made a lunging grab of Novak's ball and flipped to the second-base bag to retire Marquez, effectively ending the potential threat.

Bond had another exceptionally quick 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth, but no Wildcats were able to reach base in the seventh.

Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Petersen led NU at the plate with a pair of singles.