Feb. 24, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ga. -- In the opening game of the 11th annual NFCA Leadoff Classic, No. 24 Louisville hit a pair of solo home runs in a pitching dominated contest to top No. 12 Northwestern, 2-0.
With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 7-4 on the year, while the Cardinals remain perfect with a 9-0 record.
The tournament is played in pool play format, followed by a tournament bracket. The Wildcats now are 0-1 in the pool (which includes Louisville, Massachusetts and Illinois State), while Louisville is 1-0. Northwestern competes in the first two games on the opening day, immediately returning to action to face Massachusetts.
UMass will then play Illinois State before Louisville concludes the day against ISU. The final pool contests will take place Saturday morning.
Louisville opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, getting a one-out solo home run to center for a 1-0 advantage. Northwestern starter Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) responded with a pair of strikeouts, her fifth of sixth of the game, to end the inning.
The Cardinals added one more in the bottom of the fourth with another solo homer to take a 2-0 lead.
Northwestern had trouble getting to Louisville starter Catherine Bishop for much of the game, notching just two hits in the first five innings. Freshman Tammy Williams (El Dorado Springs, Mo./Osceola) led off the game with a single up the middle, and junior Katie Logan (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) singled in the fourth.
In the bottom of the sixth, however, the Wildcats mounted a threat. Sophomore Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) and Williams drew back-to-back walks to lead off the inning, then both advanced on a sacrifice from Logan. Junior Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) hit a sharp grounder back up the middle that the pitcher snagged for a groundout, but a base-running gaffe erased the runner at second and ended the inning with no Northwestern runs.
Canney (2-2) went the distance for the Wildcats, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out nine over six innings of work.
Bishop (5-0) got the win for the Cardinals.