May 2, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In one of the most exciting games of the year, No. 12 Northwestern rallied several times in the late stages and threw out two runners at the plate but fell just short in a 7-6 loss to No. 11 Ohio State Saturday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
The loss drops Northwestern to 29-12 overall on the year, 12-5 in the Big Ten. It also snaps NU's 29-game regular-season home winning streak, dating back to April 15, 2007. Ohio State improves to 41-7 on the season, 13-2 in the conference with its win.
Sophomore Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) led off the bottom of the first with a bunt single, moving all the way to third when Ohio State committed a pair of throwing errors on the play. Buckeyes' starter Kim Reeder was able to strand Thompson at third, however.
Ohio State put runners at first and second with one out in the top of the second before trying to get tricky on a set play double steal. Northwestern sniffed it out and catcher Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) fired to shortstop Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) to erase the runner at third. NU starter Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) fired the next pitch by the batter for a strikeout to end the inning.
Ohio State was able to take the lead in the top of the third. Two Buckeyes reached on walks before a two-out intentional pass with first base open loaded the bases. Ohio State then got a two-run double into the gap in left center before an error later in the inning gave the Buckeyes at 3-0 lead entering the bottom of the frame.
OSU added one more to its total in the top of the fourth when a two-out, bases-loaded, jam-shot single into center plated one run, but center fielder Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) fired to her sister behind the plate to nail the trailing runner and end the inning.
Northwestern got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when freshman Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) crushed a Reeder offering over the fence in right center to cut OSU's lead to three, 4-1. Monka's blast is her team-best 19th of the season and her ninth in NU's 17 conference games, leaving her one shy of the Big Ten record for four-baggers in a league season.
Ohio State got that run back with another two-out base hit in the top of the fifth, driving home a runner who doubled earlier in the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Kelly Dyer led off with a smash double into the gap in left center. She moved to third when Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) was tagged out hard on a grounder to first. Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) worked a full-count walk, then moved to second when Thompson bunted to the pitcher. Now with two outs in the inning, Reeder issued a four-pitch walk to Williams to load the bases for Monka.
Reeder gave way to Lindsay Bodeker in the circle, and Monka hit a grounder to short. The shortstop muffed the ball then fired low to first to allow Kelly Dyer to score on the error. When the throw bounced away from the first basemen, Wheeler also attempted to come home but was cut down at the plate to end the inning with the score 5-2.
In the top of the sixth, Ohio State got runners to second and third with one out before one of the defensive plays of the season. Delaney got a pop up to medium center where Kelly Dyer played it perfectly, racing in at the moment of the catch to glove and fire to the plate in the same motion. The throw was a one-hop strike to her sister, Erin, who slapped the tag on the speedy Dee Dee Hillman as she attempted to hook slide in, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) led off with a towering pop fly to the track in left center. The two fielders came together and the ball bounced out of the left fielder's glove for a two-base error. Senior Ashley Lafever (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) replaced Batts at second, then trotted home when Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) laced a line drive over the fence in right and into the bleachers to bring Northwestern back within one, 5-4.
The shot was Pauly's 11th of the season and the 40th of her career, giving the Wildcats three players with 40 or more home runs in their careers (Pauly, 40; Erin Dyer, 44; Williams, 57). Speaking of Dyer, she came inches from adding another home run to her total and tying the game all in one fell swoop, lifting a high fly ball to left that was held up just enough in the gentle breeze wafting in from center to allow the fielder to reach to the very top of the fence and make the grab.
Ohio State added a pair of insurance runs on a two-run home run in the top of the seventh before re-entering Reeder in the circle for the bottom of the seventh.
Pinch hitter Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) led off the frame with a solid single up the middle before Wheeler re-entered to run at first. Thompson then beat out a hustle single to short, punctuating the hit with a jumping first pump after the call. Williams followed with a double that landed six inches inside the right-field line and three-quarters of the way to fence to score both Wheeler and Thompson all the way from first and cut the deficit to just one, 7-6.
Still with no outs in the inning, Monka was jammed on a full-count pitch and flew out to medium-deep left. Batts also worked a full count from Reeder with several foul balls before going down on strikes for out number two. Pauly then laced a sinking liner into right field that the fielder came rushing in on and dove to catch just above the grass to end the rally and the game.
Thompson was 2-for-3 while Pauly was 2-for-4 at the plate for NU. Williams and Pauly both drove in a pair of runs.
Delaney took the loss to fall to 27-9. She allowed seven runs (five earned) on six hits and 11 walks with three strikeouts.
Northwestern and Ohio State conclude their series at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Sunday, May 3, at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. Senior day festivities will begin approximately 15 prior to the scheduled first pitch.