Seven-Run Seventh (Again!) Gives #B1GCats 8-7 Win Over Knights

4/22/2018 2:04:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – One day after putting together a massive seven-run seventh-inning rally to defeat Rutgers, Northwestern did it again Sunday in possibly the most inconceivable (yes, that word means what we think it means) way possible to stun Rutgers, 8-7, and sweep the series at the RU Softball Complex.

Northwestern now is 29-13 overall on the season, 11-5 in the Big Ten. Rutgers is 17-26 on the year, 2-12 in the league.

NU now returns to Evanston for a four-game home stand beginning April 25 against Loyola (Chicago) and continuing during Senior Weekend April 27-29 against Iowa.

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Unlike Saturday when Northwestern was down just two runs entering the seventh and put a seven-spot on the board for a 10-5 victory, the Wildcats trailed the Scarlet Knights by six runs on Sunday, 7-1, and needed all seven scores to get the win.

The comeback featured four home runs and a bases-clearing triple. Of those four home runs, three were first-career blasts for the Wildcats who smashed them. The final four runs all scored with two outs.

The win was the fourth of the Big Ten season in which Northwestern entered the seventh inning trailing by at least two runs.

Sammy Nettling started the magic with a solo home run in the seventh before Marissa Panko and Lily Novak followed with solo home runs of their own for back-to-back-to-back Jacks for the 'Cats. For Nettling, it was her third home run of the season and the 10^th of her career while the performance marked the first-career blasts for Panko and Novak.

It looked like the comeback would fizzle after the initial fireworks when Rutgers retired the next two batters, but first-year Mac Dunlap re-ignited the fuse with her own first-career home run over the fence in left to cut the deficit to just two, 7-5.

Sabrina Rabin kept the inning going with a full count walk to bring the tying run to the plate, and Rutgers made a pitching change. Rachel Lewis greeted the new hurler with a smash grounder off the third baseman that went for a single and pushed Rabin to second. Morgan Nelson then walked to load the bases and push the tying run into scoring position, but Nettling was intent on something other than a tie. After leading off the rally with a solo home run, she capped it with a three-run, bases-clearing triple down the line in right to push Northwestern into the lead, 8-7.

From there, Kenna Wilkey worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom half to finish off the victory and the sweep of the Scarlet Knights.

Earlier Sunday, It was Rutgers who started the scoring in the series finale by recording a pair of runs on three hits and a Northwestern error in the bottom of the first against Wildcats starter Morgan Newport. The Scarlet Knights then added another run in the bottom of the second before Wilkey entered the circle in relief with two outs and the bases loaded. She struck out the first batter she faced to leave 'em loaded.

Northwestern got on the board in the top of the third, loading the bases with one out on a Lewis single, a Nelson hit by pitch and a Nettling single. Later on, Lewis would scamper home on a wild pitch to make it a 3-1 game, but Rutgers was able to strand both Nelson and Nettling on base to keep it to a one-run rally.

The Wildcats made a bid for more in the fourth, loading the bases with two outs on a Dunlap walk, a Rabin grounder that resulted in an error and the second hit by pitch of the game for Lewis. Nelson then rushed a line drive to straight-away left field, but the fielder took a couple of steps back and reached up to snare it as it whizzed by, ending the inning with no runs across.

The same situation cropped up in the fifth when Panko drew a one-out walk. She immediately took off for second on a stolen base attempt, but Novak unleashed a line drive directly at the shortstop, who was easily able to double up Panko to end the inning.

Rutgers added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-1 lead before Northwestern put together yet another rally in the sixth. Wilkey and Brooke Marquez led off the inning with singles before Dunlap was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Rutgers changed pitchers, putting Taylor Manno into the circle in relief of Whitney Jones, and Manno managed to retire the first three Wildcats she faced to strand all three inherited runners.

After Rutgers tacked on one more run to make it a 7-1 ballgame entering the seventh, the Wildcats put together their incredible comeback.

Wilkey (15-4) earned the victory with 5.1 innings of relief in which she gave up four runs on four hits and five walks with three strikeouts. Newport allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and four walks in 1.2 innings in the start.

Nettling led the way at the plate with a 3-for-5 day, driving in four runs. Lewis finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Wilkey also collected a pair of hits.