April 17, 2011
Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Pearl Field)
Score: Iowa 9, Northwestern 7
Records: NU (20-13, 2-6 Big Ten), Iowa (24-16, 7-3 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: April 20, 2011 -- at UIC (Chicago, Ill.) 5 p.m. CT
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Northwestern built a 7-1 lead midway through a Sunday contest at Iowa, but an eight-run Hawkeye fourth-inning rally built around a couple of Wildcats' errors contributed to a 9-7 loss for NU.
Northwestern now is 20-13 overall on the year, 2-6 in the Big Ten with its loss. Iowa improves to 24-16 on the season, 7-3 on the conference with its win.
Northwestern began the scoring in the top of the second. Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) drew a leadoff walk in the frame before Mari Majam (Pine Valley, Calif./Mountain Empire) fired a single into center field. A fielder's choice grounder off the bat of Kelly Quinn (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) erased Majam at second while moving Wheeler to third, from whence she came home on a Kristin Scharkey (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza) sacrifice fly.
Iowa returned fire instantly in the bottom of the second with a game-tying leadoff home run against NU starter Sammy Albanese (Belmont, Calif./Castilleja).
In the top of the third, Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) and Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) drew back-to-back one-out walks before Wheeler loaded the bases with a two-out infield single. Majam -- the Wildcats' so-called "Silent Assassin" -- then cleared the bases with a very loud triple to the gap in right-center, staking the Wildcats to a 4-1 lead.
After a 1-2-3 bottom of the third for Albanese, Northwestern jumped right back on the horse in the fourth inning. With one out in the inning, Emily Allard (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) drew a walk before sprinting around to second when Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) smoked a double down the line in right. Monka drove both in with a double that rolled all the way to the wall in right center. The inning then continued with an intentional walk to Batts before an Albanese fielder's choice grounder eliminated Monka at third. Wheeler kept her red-hot hitting of late going with a single that drove in Batts to stake NU to a 7-1 lead going into the bottom of the fourth.
Iowa fought all the way back in the bottom of the fourth after some errors from the NU defense, plating eight runs -- the last six of which were unearned -- to take a 9-7 lead to the fifth inning. Midway through the rally, Jessica Smith (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) replaced Albanese in the circle.
Majam picked up her third hit of the game and Allard notched her first base knock of the day in the top of the fifth, but no runs came of the rally for Northwestern.
Quiet offensive innings followed until Iowa rallied in the bottom of the sixth, putting runners at first and second with one out. Smith battled the next batter through a 13-pitch at-bat before earning the strikeout, then fanned the next batter as well to keep the 'Cats within two going to the seventh.
Majam shot her fourth base hit of the game back through the middle to lead off the top of the seventh. Two-straight fielder's choice grounders erased the lead runners for NU, though, to stem the rally.
Albanese (6-6) went 3.2 innings in the game, allowing eight runs (three earned) on three hits and five walks with three strikeouts. Smith went 2.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
Majam went a career-best 4-for-4 with three RBIs for NU at the plate. Wheeler had two hits and scored twice while Monka had two hits and two RBIs. Thompson also rapped out a pair of base knocks for the 'Cats.
Northwestern returns to action at 5 p.m. CT Wednesday, April 20, at UIC.
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