May 5, 2010
Site: Chicago, Ill. (Cacciatore Stadium)
Score: DePaul 4, Northwestern 2
Records: NU (24-20), DePaul (34-15)
Next NU Event: May 8, 2010 -- vs. Wisconsin (Sharon J. Drysdale Field), 1 p.m. CT
CHICAGO -- Northwestern traveled down into the city of Chicago on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon to take on DePaul, battling back from an early deficit against the Blue Demons but eventually falling, 4-2, at Cacciatore Stadium.
Northwestern falls to 24-20 overall on the year with its loss, while DePaul -- which is the top vote receiver outside the top-25 in both polls this week -- improves to 34-15 on the season with its win.
"We missed an opportunity to beat a good team today," NU head coach Kate Drohan said. "We fell short in our intensity and the way we competed."
DePaul opened the scoring in the game against Northwestern starter Jessica Smith (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) with a two-out run-scoring single in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the second, Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) drew a one-out walk and Northwestern hit a pair of deep fly balls, including one to the fence in center by Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North), but no runs came in the inning for NU.
DePaul pushed its lead to 3-0 with an RBI double and a two-out infield single. Second baseman Pauly made a great back-handed grab of the single up the middle and fired to Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) at first, but the umpire ruled the runner safe to allow the second run of the frame to come home.
Northwestern battled back in the top of the fourth. Monka drew a one-out walk before Batts threw a ball up into the wind blowing straight out. The seeming pop up continued to carry until it landed past the fence in right for a two-run home run, cutting the NU deficit to one, 3-2. Batts now has 13 home runs on the season and 33 for her career; she has hit four homers in NU's last three games and driven in 15 runs in the Wildcats' last four outings.
DePaul threatened in the top of the fifth, putting both of its leadoff runner on and then sacrificing them up a base. Smith got a lineout directly to Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) at third for the second out before fanning the next batter to keep Northwestern within a run.
In the top of the fifth, Thompson struck out swinging but reached base when the catcher couldn't handle the ball. She was erased on a fielder's choice grounder off the bat of Emily Allard (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley), then Allard moved to second on a perfect bunt single by Kristin Scharkey (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza). With two outs in the frame, Monka sent a flare down the line in left, but the shortstop charged over and caught it on the run to end the threat.
DePaul added to its lead in the bottom of the fifth, turning a leadoff double into a run on an RBI groundout later on to make its cushion two, 4-2. The Blue Demons then sent freshman Bree Brown into the circle in relief of starter Becca Heteniak to start the top of the sixth.
Northwestern put together some action again in the top of the sixth. Pauly and senior Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) recorded back-to-back one-out singles before Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) battled through a nine-pitch at-bat, but she eventually succumbed to strikes. A fly out then ended the Wildcats' threat, and no further scoring chance would come for NU in the game.
Smith (9-6) took the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.
Northwestern returns to action at 1 p.m. CT Saturday, May 8, against Wisconsin at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. Directly after the game, the Wildcats will hold their fourth annual Purple Auction in Welsh-Ryan Arena. For more information on the Purple Auction, click here.
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! Get the latest news, schedule updates, video and interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!