EVANSTON, Ill. -- Holding a 3-1 lead over DePaul in the bottom of the fourth, Northwestern exploded for nine runs -- all of which came with two outs -- to run-rule the Blue Demons, 12-1 (5), Wednesday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
Northwestern improves to 25-19 on the season with its win while DePaul now is 20-22 following its loss. NU now travels to Iowa to conclude the regular season this Friday through Sunday, May 1-3.
DePaul opened the scoring with a one-out solo home run in the top of the first inning against Northwestern's starter Kristen Wood (Trevor, Wis./Wilmot Union). The lead was short lived.
Sabrina Rabin (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) led off the bottom of the first with a single to right, then stole second base. Andrea DiPrima (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) followed with a two-run home run into the right-field bleachers to put NU on top, 2-1, via her 10th homer of the season and the 14th of her career.
Andrea Filler (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger) got the rally started right back up following the blast with a single into center, moving to second when Sammy Nettling (Tucson, Ariz./Canyon del Oro) grounded out. Olivia Duehr (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) eventually joined Filler on base via a two-out walk, but the lead remained at a single run entering the second.
Neither team managed more scoring until the bottom of the third. DiPrima led off with a walk and Krista Williams (Pleasanton, Calif./Amador Valley) entered to run for her, moving to second on a passed ball. Nettling then ripped a single into right field to bring the speedy sophomore around to the plate, making it a 3-1 game.
Julia Kuhn (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) kept the rally going with a solid single into left, pushing Nettling to second base where Marissa Panko (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) entered to run for her. DePaul starter Mary Connolly was able to quell the rally again without allowing a big blow to the #B1GCats.
Wood notched her second 1-2-3 inning of the game in the top of the fourth, fanning two more batters to get to six total. In the bottom half, Northwestern exploded for nine runs -- all of which came home with two outs -- to send the game into run-rule territory.
Anna Edwards (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. She ran all the way around to third when Brianna LeBeau (Worth, Ill./H.L. Richards) put a ball in play to Connolly that the Blue Demon threw away, putting NU runners at the corners. Rabin moved LeBeau to second with a groundout, then Filler walked to load the bases before Nettling walked behind her, forcing Edwards home.
Kuhn then broke it open with a two-run double that one-hopped the fence in left-center, making Northwestern's lead 6-1. Duehr walked after the double to re-load the bases, Brooke Marquez (Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica ) walked to push a run home, then Edwards came back to the plate and hit a two-run single. LeBeau then put the finishing touches on the rally with a three-run line drive homer into the left field bleachers to make the score 12-1. The shot was LeBeau's sixth of the year.
Wood allowed only a two-out walk in the top of the fifth to close out the contest early. She moved to 14-8 on the season with the complete-game effort, allowing one run on two hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.
Rabin and Kuhn each had two hits for NU while five Wildcats drove in multiple runs: LeBeau (3), DiPrima (2), Nettling (2), Kuhn (2) and Edwards (2). Edwards and LeBeau both scored twice.
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