April 4, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern plated three runs in the fifth inning to fight back against an early four run Illinois lead Sunday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field, but the Wildcats were unable to complete the comeback in an 8-4 loss to the No. 18 Illini.
Northwestern falls to 16-13 overall on the year with the loss, 2-2 in the Big Ten. Illinois now is 26-4 overall with its win, 2-1 in the conference.
After the top of the first ended on a double play when Emily Allard (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) gloved a low line drive and doubled off the runner at first base, Northwestern put together a rally in its half of the frame. Kristin Scharkey (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza) reached on a one-out single before stealing second and moving to third on a long Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) foul out. Back-to-back two out walks to Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) and Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) loaded the bags but Illinois starter Pepper Gay retired the next batter to end the threat.
Both Gay and Northwestern starter Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) engaged in a scoreless battle as the game moved forward. Delaney held Illinois without a hit until the top of the fourth inning, when a bloop single down the line in right followed a leadoff walk to put Illini at first and second with no outs. Delaney fanned the next batter before an error loaded the bases. Another strikeout made it two outs in the frame, but a jam-shot single into center resulted in a pair of runs coming home to give Illinois a 2-0 lead.
The Illini tacked on a third run with back-to-back doubles to start the fifth inning. That runner moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a passed ball to make the score 4-0 before Delaney ended the frame with her fifth K of the game and the 1,099th of her career. The second out of the inning involved Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) throwing out a runner at the plate for her sixth outfield assist of the year.
In the bottom of the fifth, Northwestern put a healthy claw mark in its deficit. With one out, Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) lined a single down the line in right, then stole second. She remained there when Illinois' left fielder was unable to make the catch with a diving attempt on an Allard fly ball that fell for a single. One out later, Monka drove a single into center to score Thompson and move Allard to third. That hit chased Gay from the game in favor of Monica Perry.
Batts then dumped a single of her own into left to plate Allard and cut the Illinois lead in half, 4-2. Aly Euler (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) entered the game to run for Monka while Lauren Ackerman (St. Louis, Mo./Home schooled) ran for Batts. Both runners moved up a bag on a wild pitch before Haug was hit by a pitch to juice the bases. Perry then issued a full-count walk to Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) to force in Euler and make it a one-run game, 4-3, before the inning ended.
Freshman Meghan Lamberth (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette), who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fifth, remained in the game to pitch in relief of Delaney to start the sixth. She was able to maintain NU's momentum with a quick 1-2-3 effort, needing just 11 pitches to finish the frame.
Allard beat a two-out infield single in the bottom of the sixth, but nothing came of the freshman's second single in the game.
Illinois gave itself some insurance in the top of the seventh with a two-run home run, a two-out RBI double and a Wildcat error to make the score 8-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, Monka and Batts led off with back-to-back singles. Haug then laced a one-hopper up the middle, but the Illini second-baseman made a tremendous back-handed grab to erase Batts at second on the fielder's choice. One out later, Dyer beat out an infield single deep in the hole at short to drive in Monka and make the score 8-4, but that is all the closer the Wildcats would get.
Delaney (8-9) went 5.0 innings in the game, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits and five walks with five strikeouts. Lamberth pitched 2.0 frames, surrendering four runs (three earned) on four hits.
Allard, Monka and Haug each led NU at the plate with two hit days.
Northwestern returns to action at 5 p.m. CT Wednesday, April 7, in a Big Ten doubleheader in Iowa City.