March 7, 2004
CLEARWATER, Fla. - After playing a tough extra-inning game against Purdue in the morning, Northwestern was in no mood to play around with Tennessee-Chattanooga in the bracket-play final. The 'Cats pounded the UT-Chattanooga 6-0 behind another excellent performance by freshman pitcher Eileen Canney.
"I was pleased to see us come out after an exciting game against Purdue and play the way we did," said head coach Kate Drohan. "Eileen has had a few outings where she has continued to cut down on her walks."
Northwestern's offense struggled to get on track early in the ballgame, but exploded in the fourth inning. After back-to-back singles by Carri Leto and Erin Mobley, Kristen Amegin singled both runners home to give the 'Cats a 2-0 lead.
Catcher J.C. Kira singled to lead off the fifth inning and scored when Sheila McCorkle hit a triple down the left-field line to extend the NU lead to 3-0. McCorkle came around to score on a fielder's choice by Leto that pushed the 'Cats' lead to 4-0.
Leto and Mobley put together back-to-back singles in the seventh inning and scored when freshman slugger Garland Cooper doubled, giving Northwestern the 6-0 edge.
"We made some adjustments offensively and stayed aggresive," said Drohan. "I thought we looked very good in the batters box today."
Mobley finished 3-for-4 with three singles. Leto was 2-for-4 while Amegin went 2-for-3 to lead to Wildcat offense.
Canney allowed only two walks, while striking out eight. She moved to 6-1 on the season and picked up her second consecutive complete game shutout. With the win, Northwestern improved to 6-1 in the Speedline Tournament. The 'Cats tied No. 14 Oregon in the pool play round and claimed the title in their bracket-play round, improving their season mark to 12-4.