March 8, 2008
Box Score
LAKEWOOD, Calif. -- In a pitcher's duel between two of the premier aces in the nation, No. 8 Northwestern's Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) threw her third-career no-hitter but the outstanding play of No. 24 Virginia Tech's Angela Tincher and the ridiculous dimensions at Mayfair Park conspired to beat the Wildcats Saturday morning, 1-0, in eight innings.
Northwestern falls to 12-4 on the season with its loss, while Virginia Tech improves to 14-7 with its victory.
Delaney's no-hitter is her second of the season after also performing the feat on Feb. 22 in a 7-0 win over Oregon. She allowed just one walk and a hit batter while striking out nine, but was done in by the international tiebreak rule (which places a runner on second to start the inning) when a one-out squeeze bunt in the eighth brought home the game's only run for the Hokies. She falls to 10-3 with the loss, while Tincher's win improved the nation's leading strikeout pitcher to 7-3 on the year.
The no-hitter was the 39th in Northwestern history and just the second that resulted in a loss.
Northwestern had its chance to end the game in regulation, but the men's slowpitch dimensions of Mayfair Park again bit the Wildcats in the top of the sixth. With one out, freshman Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) creamed a ball to extremely deep left-center field, but the ball hung up long enough to be caught some 230-240 feet from the plate.
In the bottom of the first inning, Virginia Tech put its leadoff batter on courtesy of a walk. After a strikeout, junior shortstop Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) ranged to her left to glove a screaming liner, then fired to first to double up the runner to end the frame.
Northwestern got the first hit of the ball game on a one-out single up the middle from sophomore Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) in the second. Dyer stole second, but was stranded there after a pair of strikeouts.
In the top of third, Williams put a monstrous two-out swing on a Tincher delivery, sending a hard-line drive into right but it went directly to the fielder, who took a few steps to her left and reached down to make a basket catch of the ball.
Northwestern put a pair of runners on base in the top of the fourth inning in a bit of a two-out rally. Junior Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) was hit by a pitch, then replaced at first by pinch runner Aly Euler (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest). After Euler stole second, Kelly Dyer drew a walk to put runners at first and second, but Tincher got a K to end the inning unscathed.
While the Wildcats were mounting mini-threats, Delaney was absolutely dominant in the circle. Following the leadoff walk in the first, Delaney retired 16 batters in a row before a runner reached on a two-out error in the sixth. That runner was gunned down by Erin Dyer trying to steal to end the inning, meaning Delaney still had faced the minimum batters through six innings.
Virginia Tech put a runner on second with two outs after Delaney drilled the leadoff batter in the back and she advanced to second on a groundout, but another grounder to Williams at short ended the seventh and sent the game into extra innings.
With Ashley Lafever (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) on second base to start the eighth inning as part of international tiebreak play -- she replaced junior Jessica Rigas (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) as a pinch runner -- freshman Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) bunted her over with one out. With two outs, freshman Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) battled through a long at-bat before the Hokie catcher made a great grab of a foul ball up against the backstop fence to end the inning.