Feb. 10, 2005
FAU Worth Invitational Game Notes in PDF Format
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern enters the FAU Worth Invitational as one of the hottest teams in the nation, coming off a 4-1 opening weekend at the Pepsi Arizona Classic in which it outscored its opponents by a whopping 37-9.
Perhaps the best game NU played in that tournament was also its only loss, a 4-3 decision to No. 3/2 Arizona in extra-innings. Sophomore Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the sixth and sophomore Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) struck out 10 batters and threw six scoreless innings before Arizona prevailed in the eighth.
Freshman Stephanie Churchwell (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro) has her career off to a sizzling start, leading NU with a .563 average from the leadoff spot in the lineup. Junior Jamie Dotson (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) drove in a team high 11 RBIs last week while swatting two home runs on opening day and junior Kristen Amegin (W. Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) also hit a pair of home runs for the Wildcats.
Churchwell and Canney were named Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Week for their efforts, marking the second-straight year NU has swept those honors after the season's opening weekend.
The Wildcats and their 4-1 record are tops in the Big Ten after just three Conference teams saw action last week. Illinois opened its season with a 3-3 record while Indiana began at 1-4. All other Big Ten schools will take the dirt for the first time this week.
At the FAU Worth Invitational Friday, NU will face No. 23 Georgia Tech (3-0) at 1 p.m. CT in its first game followed by Bethune-Cookman (4-2) at 4 p.m. CT in the back-half of the opening-day doubleheader.
On Saturday during the Tournament's second day of round-robin competition, the Wildcats will square off with Boston College at 9 a.m. CT and the host Owls at 6 p.m. CT. BC has not played yet this season while FAU -- receiving votes in the preseason polls -- has begun the year with a rough slate and an 0-7 record.
The tournament will conclude Sunday with the championship and consolation games.