March 4, 2007
Box Score
FULLERTON, Calif. -- No. 8 Northwestern made the most of getaway day at the 2007 Worth Invitational, defeating Oklahoma State, 7-2, to finish a perfect 5-0 in the tournament and claim the Invitational championship as the only undefeated team in the field.
The win improves the Wildcats to 15-5 overall on the season, while the loss drops Oklahoma State to 11-12 overall, 1-4 in the Invitational.
Coming into the Northwestern game with an 11-11 record, the Cowgirls represented the 14th-straight team the 'Cats had faced this season with a winning or .500 record.
The Wildcats wasted no time pouncing on the Cowgirls, reaching base in their first five trips to the plate and batting around in the first inning for four runs. Senior Katie Logan (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) led off with a walk, then moved to third when sophomore Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Ill./Osceola) hit a soft liner into center for a single. Williams advanced to second when the throw came in to third trying to get Logan.
Senior Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) singled up the middle to score both Logan and Williams and give the 'Cats a 2-0 lead. Freshman Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) and sophomore Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) followed Cooper with walks to load the bases still with no outs.
After Oklahoma State starter Jessica Hoppock got a pair of strikeouts, freshman Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) ripped a two-out single back up the middle to plate Cooper and Pauly, staking the Wildcats to a four-run lead, 4-0.
In the bottom of the second, Williams drew a one-out walk and that was enough to chase Hoppock (9-7) from the game in favor of reliever Anna Whiddon.
Northwestern starter Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) got in trouble to begin the third, fighting a bout of wildness and issuing four-consecutive walks to lead off the frame. After a sacrifice fly for the first out of the inning made the score 4-2, senior Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) came in to replace Delaney. Canney got a soft lineout and a strikeout to end the inning with no further damage.
In the bottom of the fourth, Williams legged out an infield single near the second base bag with two outs, then scored when Cooper doubled into left field. Cooper's ball was hit well, but the wind blew it hard back toward the infield, twisting Cowgirl left fielder Kati Phillips in circles before she missed with a dive to allow Williams to score and push NU's lead back to three, 5-2.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Wildcats capitalized on a Cowgirl error to add two more runs. With two outs, pinch hitter Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) hit a high fly ball into shallow left field, where it popped in and out of the glove of Phillips to allow Haug to reach first.
Kelly Dyer followed with a deep blast to center field that fought the wind just hard enough to sail over the centerfielder's glove and over the fence for a two-run home run and a five-run Northwestern advantage, 7-2.
The blast was the third of the season for Dyer.
Canney finished the game with 4.2 innings pitched in relief, allowing two hits and two walks with no runs and five strikeouts to earn the win. She improves to 7-5 on the season, 3-0 on the weekend.
Delaney went the first 2.1 innings, allowing two runs on one hit and five walks with one strikeout.
Cooper finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. She now has 219 career hits, moving past Erin Mobley (2002-05) to take over first on the career list for the 'Cats. Cooper now holds eight career batting records at Northwestern.
Williams finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while Kelly Dyer finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs.
Northwestern now is off for a week to take finals, and returns to action with its spring break trip beginning March 16-18 at the Tiger Invitational in Columbia, Mo.