April 19, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Seven different Wildcats hit safely as No. 16 Northwestern spread the offensive wealth Tuesday afternoon in the first game of a doubleheader against Bradley, defeating the Braves, 7-2, at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
The Wildcats overall record improves to 31-9 with the win. NU has won its last 13 games in a row. Bradley falls to 12-24 with the loss.
The Braves struck first in the game, hitting four consecutive one-out singles off Wildcat starter Megan Hinck (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) in the second inning. None were particularly hard hit, but fell just out of the reach of NU fielders, giving the Braves an early 2-0 lead.
Northwestern wasted no time responding, and in a big way. In the bottom half of the inning, junior Kristen Amegin (Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) drew a lead-off walk, then was replaced on the base paths by sophomore Elizabeth Piatt (Monticello, Ill./Monticello).
Piatt stole second, then advanced to third on a right-side groundout by junior Sheila McCorkle (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei). Freshman Kelly Odell (Portland, Ore./Westview) then dunked a single over shortstop to score Piatt and cut the lead to 2-1.
Freshman Stephanie Churchwell (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro) cleared the bases with a long fly triple to the wall that the Bradley fielder could not haul in, giving Northwestern a 3-2 advantage.
Sophomore Jessica Miller (Elberfeld, Ind./Techumseh) came to plate after replacing starting right fielder Erin Mobley (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) in the first inning, and lined a double to the wall to plate Churchwell and extend NU's lead to 4-2.
Miller's double was the eighth hit of her career and the seventh double. Her only other career base knock was a home run against St. Mary's this season at the Stanford Tournament. She is now averaging 2.25 bases per hit for her career.
Still not finished, sophomore Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) drew her second walk of the contest, and junior Jamie Dotson (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) smashed a double up the middle to score Miller and give the Wildcats a 5-2 edge.
The double was the 13th of the season for Dotson, tying Northwestern's single-season record. She shares the record with seven other Wildcats, including teammate Mobley, who hit 13 doubles in 2003.
Northwestern continued to score in the third, when McCorkle led off with a single and stole second. She came all the way around to score on Odell's second single of the game, making the score 6-2.
In the fourth inning, the Wildcats added another run. Miller drew a walk, but was erased on a fielder's choice ball from Cooper. With two outs, Amegin laced a double over the head of the right fielder to plate Cooper and extend NU's lead again to 7-2.
Hinck picked up her first career win, evening her season record at 1-1. She went the distance, allowing four hits while striking out one.
Odell finished the game with a pair of singles and two RBIs. Churchwell also had two runs batted in while seven different Wildcats crossed the plate.
Brittany Dehler (8-12) pitched five innings for the Braves, giving up seven runs on eight hits with five walks and three strikeouts. Rebecca Bishop pitched the final scoreless inning for Bradley.