Northwestern now is 2-0 at the tournament and 6-9 overall on the season. Cal State Fullerton falls to 11-8 on the year with its loss, 2-1 at the event. Northwestern returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 28, against Stanford at Mayfair Park in Lakewood, Calif. The game is part of Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton's Louisville Slugger Invitational.
After both offenses teased each other for the first two innings, Northwestern did the first real damage in the top of the third. With one out, freshman Sabrina Rabin (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) beat out an infield single and moved to second when Andrea DiPrima (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) drew a four-pitch walk.
Andrea Filler (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger) followed with a double to the fence in left center that brought in Rabin and DiPrima all the way from first for a 2-0 Northwestern lead. Later, with two outs, Brianna LeBeau (Worth, Ill./H.L. Richards) crushed a ball toward the pole in right that was tracked down with a catch one step before the fielder crashed into the barrier, ending the inning.
Cal State Fullerton responded in a big way, getting back-to-back leadoff singles in the bottom of the third followed by an error and a three-run home run to quickly stake the home team to a 4-2 lead.
Northwestern got one of those runs back in the top of the fourth. With one out, Julia Kuhn (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) lined a single to right center. The senior moved up on her first-career stolen base before Anna Edwards (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) joined her via a walk. A fielder's choice ball erased Kuhn at third for the second out of the inning before Rabin slapped her second single of the game into left to bring Edwards home. The trail runner on the play was thrown out at third to end the inning, but not before the Wildcats cut their deficit down to 4-3.
Filler knotted the score for Northwestern in the top of the fifth with a solo home run to center, blasting a one-out pitch on a rope to the fence that the Titans center fielder rose and somehow got a glove on, but not enough to keep it in the park. Filler's shot was her team-leading third of the year and the 17th of her collegiate career.
Amy Letourneau (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) entered the circle in relief in the bottom of the fifth, working a 1-2-3 nine-pitch inning capped with a K. In the sixth, she again went 1-2-3 against the Titans, though this time she needed all of 10 pitches.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, Filler lined her fourth hit of the game down the right-field line for a double, but a Letourneau lineout to short followed to end the inning. Filler picked up her pitcher with two outstanding defensive plays at short in a 1-2-3 seventh inning that sent the game into extras.
With the international tiebreak rule in effect, Fran Strub (Coralville, Iowa/Clear Creek Amana) entered the game to pinch run for Letourneau at second base to begin the top of the eighth. LeBeau crushed a line drive single to left to lead off the inning to bring Strub around and stake the Wildcats to a 5-4 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, Fullerton's leadoff batter in the order started the frame on second base. Letourneau got a strikeout, then issued an intentional walk to the dangerous Titans' No. 3 batter. She then got another strikeout and a comebacker to never allow the ITB runner to leave second, completing a phenomenal relief appearance.
Letourneau (4-7) picked up the win in relief, going 4.0 hitless innings and allowing only the intentional walk with four strikeouts. Wood worked 4.0 innings in her start, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk four strikeouts.
Filler led the world at the plate with her 4-for-4 day, driving in three and scoring once on the strength of a single, two doubles and a home run. Rabin also collected a pair of hits for NU.
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