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No. 20 DePaul, Darkness Defeat No. 11 Northwestern, 5-3 (5)

Game shortened after one out in the bottom of the fifth

Sophomore Kelly Dyer had an RBI double in the fifth inning Tuesday against No. 20 DePaul.

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April 29, 2008

Box Score

CHICAGO -- After the first two games of the DePaul Invitational went extra innings Tuesday afternoon at Cacciatore Stadium, No. 11 Northwestern and No. 20 DePaul were unable to play a complete game in the final contest of the day due to darkness, giving the Blue Demons a 5-3, five-inning victory.

The loss drops Northwestern to 32-13 on the season, while DePaul improves to 42-14 with its victory. The game ended after one out in the bottom of the fifth.

Northwestern took the early lead with a first-inning run against DePaul. With one out, junior Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) ripped a ball into left that tailed away from the fielder, and it hit off her glove and rolled to the fence as she sprinted to her right and reached to the ground for it. The official scorer ruled it a tough error, with Williams ending up on second. One out later, sophomore Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) ripped a single into right field to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

Northwestern added a second run in the top of the second. Freshman Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) reached on a one-out error by the DePaul shortstop, then moved to second when senior Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) drew a walk. One out later, Williams send a shot to nearly the identical spot as her first batted ball went, this one going for an RBI double when Quinn crossed the plate and Sengewald moved to third. Freshman Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) then crushed a ball to right field, but the fielder took two steps to her right -- the only steps she had time to take -- before reaching up to snare the drive and end the inning.

DePaul took the lead in the bottom of the second inning, scoring two earned runs and two unearned runs against Northwestern starter Jessica Smith (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon). The first two batters reached on infield singles before a sacrifice moved them up a bag. A hard-hit ball that ate up the NU infield before rolling between outfielders for an error brought both runners home. A walk, a single and two fielder's choice balls accounted for two more runs before the frame concluded with the Blue Demons on top, 4-2.

Junior Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) drew a one-out walk in the third, then was replaced by pinch runner Aly Euler (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest). One out later, Euler took off for second while sophomore Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) beat out an infield single, moving Euler to third. The inning would end there, however, with no NU runs across.

With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, DePaul got a solo home run to increase its lead to three, 5-2.

With daylight fading in the top of the fifth, Pauly and Erin Dyer led off with back-to-back singles. Sophomore Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) then laced a double to the fence in right to drive in Pauly, move Thompson to third and make the score 5-3. DePaul elected to replace starter Lindsay Dean (8-2) in the circle with reigning National Player of the Week Becca Heteniak, who recorded a strikeout before walking freshman Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) to load the bases, but two more strikeouts ended the inning for NU.

Smith (3-5) took the loss for NU, going 4.1 innings and allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits and four walks with three strikeouts.

Pauly led NU at the plate with a 2-for-3 effort.

Northwestern returns to action at 1 p.m. CT Saturday, May 3, against Michigan State at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. The Wildcats enter the final series of the Big Ten series tied for the conference lead with No. 6 Michigan at 16-2. Following Saturday's game, Northwestern will host its second-annual Purple Auction in Welsh-Ryan Arena.