May 2, 2006
CHICAGO, Ill. -- It took No. 14 Northwestern extra innings, but the Wildcats scored a pair of runs in the top of the ninth and rode yet another stellar outing by junior Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) to defeat DePaul Tuesday afternoon in the first game of a doubleheader, 2-0.
With the win, Northwestern improves to 37-11 on the season, while DePaul falls to 27-20.
After junior Katie Logan (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) led off the game with single, DePaul held the Wildcats without a hit until the fifth when senior Kristen Amegin (West Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) laced a one-out double down the right-field line. She was replaced by freshman Ann Schraufnagel (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) on the basepaths.
Senior Sheila McCorkle (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei) advanced Schraufnagel with a groundout to the right side, then freshman Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) drew a walk to put runners on the corners with two down. No runs would come of the situation for the 'Cats.
Canney was mowing down the Blue Demons of her own accord. She fanned the first four batters of the game, and did not allow a hit until there were two outs in the third. In the fourth, DePaul got a two-out hit to left, but Logan gunned the runner down at second trying to stretch the single into a double to end the inning.
The pitcher's duel continued into the seventh between Canney and DePaul starter Stephanie Blagaitch. Junior Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) opened up the seventh with a single through the left side, but again the Wildcats were unable to score.
Canney fanned her 10th batter of the game to start the bottom of the seventh. Prior to Tuesday, the most DePaul had struck out as a team in a single game was eight times.
With two outs, an error put a Blue Demon runner on second base. Linda Secka then crushed a liner to center that McCorkle charged and gloved with a dive in front of her to end the inning and send the game into extra innings.
In the top of the ninth, the Wildcats mounted another rally and broke through. With one out, Logan was hit by a pitch, then freshman Tammy Williams (El Dorado Springs, Mo./Osceola) singled up the middle to put runners on first and second. DePaul replaced Blagaitch in the circle with Leslie Scott after the Williams base knock.
Cooper stepped up and crushed a ball all the way to fence in right-center, but it was just short of having enough to get over and was caught for the second out. Logan tagged up and moved to third. Senior Jamie Dotson (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) then lined a ball through the left side of the infield, catching the second baseman leaning the wrong way. The ball glanced off her glove as she lunged back towards it, and Logan scampered home to score. Williams advanced to third, then was awarded home when the throw to third skipped into the dugout for an error and a 2-0 Northwestern lead.
To lead off the bottom of the ninth, the first Blue Demon batter slapped a slow ball to Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) at third. Sengewald barehanded the ball and threw to first to beat the runner by a step for out number one. Canney then retired the next two batters she faced to end the game -- the last on a hard liner caught by Sengewald.
Canney allowed just two hits and no walks while striking out 11 to move to 19-5 on the year. The win total matches Canney's career high -- she won 19 in each of her first two seasons. The shutout was her 13th of the season.