Feb. 17, 2008

Box Score

TEMPE, Ariz. -- In a game that began Friday as No. 6 Northwestern's kickoff contest of the 2008 season, the Wildcats weathered the weather and a furious comeback attempt by No. 3 Texas A&M Sunday morning at the Kajikawa Classic, defeating the Aggies, 8-7, in a game delayed two days by rain.

The win moves Northwestern to a perfect 3-0 on the season with wins over the No. 1-and No. 3-ranked teams in the country. Texas A&M falls to 8-2 on the year with the loss.

Friday afternoon portion of the game:

Northwestern wasted little time getting its season started against Texas A&M and All-America hurler Amanda Scarborough. With one out in the top of the first, junior Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) ripped an infield single off Scarborough, then scampered to third when sophomore Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) single through the right side.

Pauly immediately stole second to put runners at second and third, then freshman Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) shot a single back up the middle in her first-career at bat to plate both Williams and Pauly and give NU an early 2-0 lead.

Texas A&M quickly evened the score in the bottom half of the first, getting a leadoff walk followed by a one-out home run to tie the game, 2-2.

In the top of the second, Northwestern took the lead back with one swing of the bat. Leading off the frame, sophomore Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) laced a solo home run over the fence in right to make the Wildcats' lead one, 3-2.

The Wildcats added more in the third frame. Williams led off the inning with an infield single to second, then stole second before moving to third on a passed ball. Pauly then singled over the glove of the Aggie shortstop to score Williams for a 4-2 NU advantage.

Scarborough then drilled Batts, and both runners moved up a bag on a productive groundout from Jessica Rigas (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest). After Pauly was erased on a fielder's choice grounder from Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport), a wild pitch allowed Batts to sprint home to extend NU's lead to three, 5-2.

Texas A&M again battled back with a two-run home run, this one in the bottom of third to cut Northwestern's lead back down to one, 5-4.

The 'Cats made it four-consecutive innings with a run scored in the top of the fourth. With two gone in the top half, senior Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) lined a double into the right-center field gap, then Williams notched her third hit of the game with a sharp single to right allowing Sengewald to race around and score ahead of the throw to put the Wildcats back up two, 6-4.

And the hits kept coming. Or perhaps the Batts, as it were. Leading off the top of the fifth, the appropriately named NU freshman annihilated a pitch over the fence in left center. The blast forced Scarborough (3-2) out of the circle in favor of Rhiannon Kliesing. Scarborough gave up seven runs on nine hits with five strikeouts in the game.

Later in the inning, Erin Dyer drew a four-pitch walk, then was replaced on the base paths by freshman Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King), who immediately stole second. With two outs, freshman pinch hitter Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) punched a single up the middle to plate Thompson for an 8-4 NU lead.

With rain falling as it had all game long and footing becoming treacherous, Northwestern sophomore Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) walked two straight batters before hitting a third to load the bases. At that point, a rain delay was called and the game eventually suspended until Sunday.

Sunday morning portion of the game:

With the sun still creeping up Sunday morning at the Tempe Sports Complex, Delaney took the ball to the circle to resume the game. An entirely different umpiring crew came to the ballpark, the Aggie runners took their positions and the first batter of the inning drew a four-pitch walk to force in a run.

Delaney fanned the next batter -- her 10th K of the game -- before issuing another walk to close Texas A&M's gap to two, 8-6. Still feeling out the new strike zone while dealing with a first-inning feeling in about as pressure packed a late-game situation as there is, Delaney caught the next two batters peeking to reach strikeout number 12 in the game and escape the situation with veteran aplomb.

Williams reached base in the top of the sixth with a one-out single, matching her single-game career high of four hits for the fourth time as a Wildcat, but for the first time in the game Northwestern failed to push across a run during the frame.

In the bottom of the sixth, a leadoff flare fell to the ground for a single when Williams lost it in the rising sun. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second before a two-out blooper down the line in right scored the runner to cut NU's lead to one, 8-7, heading into the seventh frame.

Northwestern loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh when Rigas drew a walk, Kelly Dyer singled over the second-base bag and freshman Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) also drew a walk, but Kliesing got a strikeout to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore left fielder Ashley Lafever (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) made THE play of the game for Northwestern. Megan Hinshaw, who hit a walk off home run to beat the Wildcats in last year's season opener, sent a ball deep to the fence in left, but Lafever fought the sun to reach over the fence and bring a sure game-tying homer back into the ballpark for out number one. From there, Delaney took care of business to preserve an 8-7 win for Northwestern.

Delaney (2-0) went the distance, allowing seven runs on just four hits with 13 strikeouts and eight walks.

Williams finished a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored, while Batts was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Pauly and Kelly Dyer both contributed a pair of hits.

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