No. 6 Northwestern Run Rules Western Illinois, 8-0 (5)
March 2, 2008
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- No. 6 Northwestern put up a five-run fifth inning on the strength of a pair of home runs Sunday against Western Illinois to run-rule the Westerwinds, 8-0 (5), at the Coach B Classic hosted by Southern Illinois. The victory improves Northwestern to 9-3 overall on the year, while WIU falls to 0-9 with its loss. Northwestern put its first threat of the game together in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) led off with an infield single, then moved to second one out later when junior Jessica Rigas (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) dumped a single into right field. Sophomore Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) followed with a fielder's choice grounder to the circle, but the throw to third was dropped to load the bases. With two outs, freshman Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) laced a ground ball back up the middle that the Western Illinois second baseman moved over and attempted to backhand, but she could not handle the hot shot and it bounded into center to drive in a pair of NU runs. A wild pitch then pushed Dyer across the plate to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead. Northwestern added enough to its lead in the bottom of the fifth that it ended the game. Sophomore Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) led off with a pinch hit single that hugged the first-base line before hitting the bag. Freshman Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) then re-entered to run for Haug, immediately swiping second.
Quinn then shot a single through the right side of the infield, sending Thompson scampering around to score. One out later, junior Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) drove a deep home run over the fence in right to give the Wildcats a six-run cushion, 6-0.
The drive was Williams' second of the season and the 32nd of her career, moving her into a tie for 13th on the Big Ten all-time list. Freshman Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) followed with a single into left field, then was replaced by pinch runner Aly Euler (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest). Pauly then ended the game, stroking a home run into the teeth of a gusty, 20 mile per hour wind in left center to give NU the run-rule win, 8-0. Freshman Jessica Smith (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) earned the win for the Wildcats in the circle, notching her first-career shutout to improve to 2-1 on the year. Smith allowed three hits and three walks while striking out four over 5.0 innings of work. Quinn and Pauly both finished with a pair of base hits, with Quinn driving in three and Pauly knocking in a pair. Williams also had two RBIs for the 'Cats. |
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