March 3, 2006
FULLERTON, Calif. -- In the second of four scheduled meetings between No. 16 Northwestern and Cal State Fullerton this season, junior Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) threw a one-hit shutout and the Wildcats blanked the Titans at the Worth Invitational, 4-0.
Canney was perfect through five innings, allowing only a sharp single up the middle to lead off the sixth inning. She finished the game with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
Canney improves to 3-2 on the year, with all three of her wins coming by way of shutout over teams ranked or receiving votes (No. 8 California, No. 15 Oregon State and the Titans) in the national polls.
Northwestern improves to 9-4 on the year with the win, while Fullerton falls to 9-8. The Wildcats won the previous meeting of the squads, 5-4, on Feb. 17 at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.
Freshman Tammy Williams (El Dorado Springs, Mo./Osceola) led off the game for the 'Cats with a rifle of a double to the wall in center field. Junior Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) and senior Jamie Dotson (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) both drew walks to load the bases with two outs.
Senior Sheila McCorkle (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei) followed with a single up the middle to score Williams for a 1-0 Northwestern lead. Cooper came charging home on the play, but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning despite her best evasive slide.
In the second, Wildcat sophomore Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) kicked off a two-out rally with a walk, then advanced to second on a Williams single. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch.
Junior Katie Logan (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) then beat out an infield single to third, plating Sengewald for a 2-0 lead. Cooper followed with a hard double to the center-field fence, scoring Williams from third and Logan all the way from first to push Northwestern's lead to four, 4-0.
Cooper's RBIs gave her exactly 100 for her career, good for third on the Wildcats' career list behind Erin Jancic (108) and teammate Kristen Amegin (West Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) (104).
Cal State Fullerton changed pitchers to begin the third, replacing starter Brooke Weekley with Marissa Marzan.
The switch did well, holding the Northwestern offense in check from there on in. Meanwhile, Canney was bruising the Fullerton bats. The junior racked up seven strikeouts through the first four innings, then coaxed three groundouts in the fifth for her first frame without a whiff. She fanned the side in the second inning.
Canney surrendered her first hit -- and base runner -- of the game with a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth.
Williams finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Cooper, freshman Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) and Williams all blasted doubles for the 'Cats.
The game was Northwestern's first of the Worth Invitational after its opener against UC Santa Barbara was canceled because of standing water on the fields.
The Wildcats return to action at 1:15 p.m. CT Saturday against No. 3 Tennessee. Check NUsports.com for Gametracker availability, which is still TBD for the contest.