March 25, 2009
Box Score
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- No. 10 Northwestern broke open a tie ball game with a five-run seventh inning to defeat Maryland, 7-2, Wednesday in the first game of the Wildcats' 2009 spring break trip.
Northwestern improves to 16-7 on the year with its win, while Maryland falls to 14-15 overall with its loss.
After a scoreless first couple of innings, Northwestern put the game's first run on the board in the top of the third. With two outs, senior Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) -- who flew out to the fence in dead center in her first at-bat -- blasted a ball over the barrier in left for a 1-0 NU lead. The home run was the sixth of the year for Williams and the 48th of her career.
The inning continued with Adrienne Monka's (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) second walk, a Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) hit by pitch and a walk to Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) to load the bases. Senior Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) followed with a rocket line drive to third that the fielder made a tremendous grab of to end the frame.
Maryland answered right back in the bottom of the third, tying the game on a pair of walks and a pair of jam-shot singles into left. After NU starter Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) got the second out of the inning via the K, a third walk made the score 2-1 in favor of the Terrapins before a fly ball ended the frame.
The Maryland lead did not last long. Junior Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) led off the top of the fourth with her career-best sixth home run of the season. The homer marked the third time in 2009 an opponent has taken the lead only to have Dyer lead off the very next half inning with a game-tying shot. She previously performed the feat Feb. 6 versus No. 23 Nevada and Feb. 7 against No. 7 Arizona.
Maryland replaced starting pitcher Kerry Hickey with Kendra Knight (1-6) to start the fifth frame. Knight surrendered a two-out base knock to Batts, but limited NU to that lone base runner in the inning.
Maryland put together a serious rally in the bottom of the sixth. The first two batters reached on a walk and a single before Delaney fanned the next two Terps to the plate. An error loaded the bags before Monka leapt to glove a foul flare just beyond the bag at first to end the inning with the score still tied, 2-2.
In the top of the seventh, pinch hitter Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) drew a leadoff walk, then gave way to pinch runner Aly Euler (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) at first. Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) then laid down a bunt, but the fielder hesitated with her throw to allow everyone to be safe on the sacrifice.
Williams made the Terrapins pay with a single back up the middle, driving in Euler from second base to give the Wildcats the lead back, 3-2. With Monka now at the plate, an alert Thompson noticed no one covering third after the first pitch of the at-bat, leading a successful double steal with Williams. Monka followed with a sacrifice fly into right to plate Thompson and move Williams to third.
One out later, Pauly worked a walk before being replaced by pinch runner Ashley Lafever (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley). Lafever stole second, then everyone trotted home when Erin Dyer crushed a pitch deep over the fence in center to break the game open, 7-2. The shot was Dyer's seventh of the year and the 36th of her career.
Delaney (15-6) went the distance to earn the win, allowing two runs on four hits and seven walks with 11 strikeouts.
Williams finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Erin Dyer drove in three for NU, giving her 135 RBIs for her career to move her past Kristen Amegin (2003-06) and into third place all-time at NU.
Northwestern returns to action at 2 p.m. CT tomorrow, Thursday, March 26, in a doubleheader at Georgetown.