NU now is 2-4 on the season following this loss while UCLA improves to 5-2 with its win. Northwestern has an opportunity to bounce back immediately against BYU in the second game of its opening day doubleheader at Eller Media Stadium.
The Wildcats used their speed and a timely hit to take a 3-0 lead after the first inning of play. Freshman Sabrina Rabin (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) led off the bottom of the initial frame with a single down the left-field line before stealing both second AND third. With one out, Amy Letourneau (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) joined her on base via a four-pitch walk and left fielder Fran Strub (Coralville, Iowa/Clear Creek Amana) flexed in to run for Letourneau (who was the original DP, or ODP, in the starting lineup). Strub then took off for second, causing a throwing error by the UCLA catcher than brought Rabin home for a 1-0 NU lead.
The inning continued when Brianna LeBeau (Worth, Ill./H.L. Richards) walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch, putting Wildcats at second and third for junior Andrea Filler (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger), who stepped up and bombed a double to left-center to give Northwestern a 3-0 edge.
After the inning, UCLA lifted starter Ally Carda for reliever Paige McDuffee to begin NU's offensive second.
UCLA got all of those runs back and more in the top of the third when its first four batters to the plate reached on a trio of base hits and a walk. All four Bruins would eventually score, the final two on a passed ball and a sacrifice fly to give NU's ranked foes their first lead, 4-3.
Northwestern nearly knotted the game in the bottom of the fourth against UCLA's third pitcher, Selina Ta'amilo, who entered at the start of the frame. NU used a one-out Anna Edwards (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) single, a two-out Caylor Arnold (Mt. Gilead, Ohio/Mt. Gilead) single and a two-out Julia Kuhn (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) walk to load the bases. Rabin then put a slap in play to third that likely would have resulted in a hit for the speedy freshman, but with the bases juiced the throw came home in time to end the rally.
UCLA took advantage of the killed rally to break the game open with a two-out rally of its own in the fifth. Back-to-back doubles with the bases empty and two outs got things started before a pair of Wildcats errors and the big blow, a three-run home run, made the score 10-3.
Both teams exchanged inning-ending double plays in the next two half frames before Northwestern threatened again in the sixth. Filler was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, then Edwards reached safely on a fielder's choice ball on the infield. Freshman Marissa Panko (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) entered the game to run for Edwards before both Wildcats moved up a bag on an Alcy Bush (Riverside, Calif./Martin Luther King) groundout. UCLA, however, got a strikeout and a groundout to keep NU at arm's length on the scoreboard.
UCLA then added two more runs in the seventh to account for the final 12-3 score.
Letourneau (1-3) went the distance and took the loss, allowing 12 runs (six earned) on 11 hits and seven walks with four strikeouts.
Filler led NU at the plate with two RBIs while Kuhn reached base twice on a pair of walks and Letourneau reached twice on a walk and an HBP.
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