No. 12 Northwestern Powers Past Illinois-Chicago, 9-1 (5)
April 22, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 12 Northwestern hit four home runs and got a solid performance in the circle from freshman Jessica Smith (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) Tuesday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field to defeat Illinois-Chicago in run-rule fashion, 9-1, in five innings. The victory is the Wildcats' school-record fifth in a row by the mercy rule. Northwestern now is 29-10 overall on the season, while Illinois-Chicago falls to 18-27 with its loss. The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 51-3 over their last five games. Illinois-Chicago put the game's first base runner on in the top of the first after a one-out error by the Wildcats, but Northwestern made good on the miscue by turning a great 5-4-3 double play to end the frame. The batter hit a hard one-hopper to third where freshman Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) stabbed it, quickly firing to sophomore Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) at second who made the turn to Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) at first to complete the twin killing.
Northwestern pushed across the game's first run in the bottom of the first without getting a base hit. Junior Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) drew a leadoff walk, then was replaced by pinch runner Aly Euler (River Forest, Ill./Lockport). Euler stole second, then one out later sophomore Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) joined her on the base paths via a walk. Both runners moved up on a groundout from freshman Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North), then Euler sprinted home on a passed ball to give NU an early 1-0 advantage.
The Wildcats then would load the bases after Thompson was hit by a pitch and freshman Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) collected her second base knock of the game, but UIC starter Sarah Clynes retired the next batter to escape with no further damage done. Illinois-Chicago knotted the game in the top of the third against Northwestern starter Smith. A leadoff bunt single moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a passed ball before coming in on a sacrifice fly to center, making the score 1-1. Northwestern took the lead right back in the bottom half of the frame. Batts led off with a single into center before being lifted for pinch runner Ashley Lafever (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley). Lafever sprinted to second for a stolen base before trotting home at a much more leisurely pace when Pauly jacked a two-run dinger over the fence in right to make the score 3-1. Two outs later, sophomore Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) drove a Clynes offering deep over the fence in center and onto NU's batting cages to up the Wildcats' edge to three, 4-1. The blast was Haug's second of the year. In the bottom of the fourth, UIC replaced Clynes (11-15) in the circle with Whitney Orellanna. Junior Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) then lifted a fly ball into right field with one out that seemed to continue carrying until it landed just beyond the fence for her ninth home run of the season. The blast gave her 39 for her career, tying her for seventh place in Big Ten history. One out later, Pauly power continued with the sophomore's second home run of the game, this one over the fence in center. Pauly now is tied with Williams, Batts and Erin Dyer for the team lead with nine on the season, and she has 23 for her career. In the bottom of the fifth, Quinn started a two-out rally with a double to left field. Pinch hitter Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) then drew a walk before Thompson re-entered to run at first. A single up the middle from Wheeler sent Quinn sprinting around to score, with Thompson moving to third and Wheeler going to second on the throw. A walk to Williams then loaded the bases before Batts ripped a double down the right-field line to score Thompson and Wheeler and end the game in five innings, 9-1. Smith was impressive on the day, surrendering just one unearned run on two infield hits and no walks with two strikeouts to improve to 3-4 on the year. Wheeler had her second-career three-hit day, while Batts, Pauly and Quinn both had two hits for NU. Pauly drove in three and scored twice while Batts also drove in a pair. The Big Ten-leading Wildcats hit the road this weekend for series at Penn State and No. 6 Michigan, getting things started with a 5 p.m. CT first pitch Friday, April 25, against the Nittany Lions in University Park, Pa. |
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