March 16, 2007
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- No. 7 Northwestern opened the Tiger Invitational Friday afternoon with a 9-0, six-inning run-rule victory against Western Illinois at University Field.
The Wildcats scored two runs in the first, five in the second and two in the sixth to earn their fifth run-rule victory of the season. Sophomore Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) drove in three runs and scored three times in front of a large contingent of fans who came out to see the Missouri native play.
Senior Katie Logan (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) also scored three times, while sophomore Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) and freshman Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) also drove in three runs each.
The win improves Northwestern to 16-5 on the season, while the loss drops Western Illinois to 6-12 this year.
Logan led off the bottom of the first with a flare single hit into right field, then moved to second when Williams reached on an error by the first baseman. Senior Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) then reached base after catcher's interference was called, loading the bags with no outs.
Pauly followed with a bounding single through the right side of the drawn-in infield, scoring both Logan and Williams for a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, junior Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way East) led off with a walk, then Logan singled to the pitcher to move Sengewald to second. Williams followed with a single back up the middle to plate Sengewald and make the score 3-0, advancing Logan to second in the process.
After a Cooper groundout moved both runners up a base, a fielder's choice grounder to second from Pauly scored Logan when the throw home was late to make NU's advantage four, 4-0, still with no outs.
Dyer then came to the plate and crushed a home run deep over the left-field fence to plate both baserunners and give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead. Dyer now has 17 RBIs on the season, good for second on the team. The home run was her third of the year.
In the circle, senior Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) was nearly untouchable. The first seven outs she recorded in the game came by strikeout, and the only hit she surrendered in the game was a second-inning double.
With the score still 7-0 in the sixth, Canney set the Westerwinds down in order with a groundout and her 11th and 12th strikeouts of the game.
In the bottom of the inning, Logan reached base sprinting before simply trotting home when a Williams' line drive tucked itself inside the right-field foul pole, staying just high enough to skip off the top of the wall and over for a two-run home run and a 9-0, six-inning win for NU.
The blast was Williams' sixth of the year, tying her with Cooper for the team lead. It was the 20th of the sophomore's career, moving her into a tie with Gretchen Barnes (1999-2002) for third in Northwestern history. Williams' three RBIs in the game give her a team-best 21 for the season.
Canney (8-5) picked up the win in the game with six innings of one-hit ball, allowing one walk and one hit by pitch while fanning 12. She crossed the 100-K mark in the game, now standing at 106 on the year.
Northwestern returns to action at 6 p.m. CT tonight, Friday, March 16, against host Missouri.