Thursday, May 11
Ann Arbor, Mich.
10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET
Northwestern
25-28
6
vs
1
Purdue
20-36
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Purdue
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
2
Northwestern
6
0
0
0
0
0
X
6
8
0
Big First Inning Propels #B1GCats Past Purdue At B1G Tournament
5/11/2017 12:26:00 PM | Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Northwestern exploded for six runs in the first inning and Kaley Winegarner chucked a career-best two-hitter in the circle to lead NU past Purdue, 6-1, in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday at Alumni Field.
Northwestern continues its season with a 25-28 overall record. Purdue's year comes to a close with a 20-36 mark.
Northwestern now advances to play No. 1 seed Minnesota in a quarterfinal matchup at 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET tomorrow, Friday, May 12, live on Big Ten Network.
Winegarner got the start for the Wildcats in this game, and she struck out the side in the top of the first inning – though the third batter did hit a solo home run to give Purdue an early 1-0 lead.
Northwestern pitied the fool deficit, and immediately went full A-Team on offense, sending every Wildcat in the lineup to the plate and putting a six spot on the board in the bottom half of the frame.
Sabrina Rabin led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on an error. One out later, Marissa Panko slapped a ball to first, and Rabin steaming toward home led to fielder paralysis and a 1-1 score with Panko safe at first. Morgan Nelson grounded a ball weakly back toward the pitcher, but she booted it away for an error to give NU a pair of base runners.
Sammy Nettling started the big hit train, tripling all the way to the fence in center to drive in both Panko and Nelson. Anna Petersen followed with a Hawk Harrelson duck snort RBI single to left, then Kenzie Ellis put the exclamation point on the rally with a two-run dinger over the fence in left to make the score 6-1.
The blast was Ellis' second of the season and the second of her career. It also knocked Purdue starter Katie Johnson out of the circle in favor of Kaitlynn Moody, who was able to end the rally.
Rabin's run scored was the 150th of the junior's time at Northwestern; she already ranks fourth all-time for the Wildcats in that category. Her hit in the first inning extended her current hitting streak to 14 games, matching her career-best set as a first-year in 2015.
As explosive as the first inning was on the scoreboard, this game turned into a pitcher's duel afterward. Winegarner did not allow another hit until the fifth inning, and when Purdue got two on with one out in the sixth, she fanned the next two Boilermakers to end the frame.
Northwestern similarly was stymied at the plate. Nettling singled again in the third before Purdue turned a double play. Rabin picked up the 195th base hit of her career in a scoreless fourth, moving her into 10th place all-time on NU's career hit list. She stole second again in that frame, giving her 95 for her career to move her past Mikie Chambers (1997-00) for fourth all-time at NU.
In the bottom of the sixth, Petersen drew a one-out walk and gave way to pinch runner Abbey Boyd. Brooke Marquez ripped her second single of the game to move Boyd to third, but another Purdue double play ended the inning.
Winegarner worked her third 1-2-3 frame of the game in the seventh, aided by a tremendous Krista Williams diving catch in left for the second out.
Winegarner threw a career-best two-hitter in the complete-game effort, moving to 10-6 on the season. She matched her career-high for strikeouts with eight.
At the plate, Rabin had two hits and two steals with a run scored. Nettling was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Marquez also had to base hits.
Northwestern continues its season with a 25-28 overall record. Purdue's year comes to a close with a 20-36 mark.
Northwestern now advances to play No. 1 seed Minnesota in a quarterfinal matchup at 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET tomorrow, Friday, May 12, live on Big Ten Network.
Nice win, Coach! That's 17 straight over the Boilers.
— Northwestern On BTN (@NUOnBTN) May 11, 2017
How'd @NUSBcats do it? ?? https://t.co/kPjb1kMFJV
Winegarner got the start for the Wildcats in this game, and she struck out the side in the top of the first inning – though the third batter did hit a solo home run to give Purdue an early 1-0 lead.
Northwestern pitied the fool deficit, and immediately went full A-Team on offense, sending every Wildcat in the lineup to the plate and putting a six spot on the board in the bottom half of the frame.
Sabrina Rabin led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on an error. One out later, Marissa Panko slapped a ball to first, and Rabin steaming toward home led to fielder paralysis and a 1-1 score with Panko safe at first. Morgan Nelson grounded a ball weakly back toward the pitcher, but she booted it away for an error to give NU a pair of base runners.
Sammy Nettling started the big hit train, tripling all the way to the fence in center to drive in both Panko and Nelson. Anna Petersen followed with a Hawk Harrelson duck snort RBI single to left, then Kenzie Ellis put the exclamation point on the rally with a two-run dinger over the fence in left to make the score 6-1.
The blast was Ellis' second of the season and the second of her career. It also knocked Purdue starter Katie Johnson out of the circle in favor of Kaitlynn Moody, who was able to end the rally.
Rabin's run scored was the 150th of the junior's time at Northwestern; she already ranks fourth all-time for the Wildcats in that category. Her hit in the first inning extended her current hitting streak to 14 games, matching her career-best set as a first-year in 2015.
As explosive as the first inning was on the scoreboard, this game turned into a pitcher's duel afterward. Winegarner did not allow another hit until the fifth inning, and when Purdue got two on with one out in the sixth, she fanned the next two Boilermakers to end the frame.
Game 1 of the @B1Gsoftball tournament is in the ??.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) May 11, 2017
Kaley Winegarner talked @NUSBcats' 6-1 win over Purdue: https://t.co/gHZCzaHctJ
Northwestern similarly was stymied at the plate. Nettling singled again in the third before Purdue turned a double play. Rabin picked up the 195th base hit of her career in a scoreless fourth, moving her into 10th place all-time on NU's career hit list. She stole second again in that frame, giving her 95 for her career to move her past Mikie Chambers (1997-00) for fourth all-time at NU.
In the bottom of the sixth, Petersen drew a one-out walk and gave way to pinch runner Abbey Boyd. Brooke Marquez ripped her second single of the game to move Boyd to third, but another Purdue double play ended the inning.
Winegarner worked her third 1-2-3 frame of the game in the seventh, aided by a tremendous Krista Williams diving catch in left for the second out.
Winegarner threw a career-best two-hitter in the complete-game effort, moving to 10-6 on the season. She matched her career-high for strikeouts with eight.
At the plate, Rabin had two hits and two steals with a run scored. Nettling was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Marquez also had to base hits.
••••••
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Winegarner, Kaley (10-6)
L: Katie Johnson (4-11)
Batting:
HR: Mallory Baker 1
RBI: Mallory Baker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mallory Baker 1
HBP: Alexa Binckes 2
Batting:
3B: Nettling, Sammy 1
HR: Ellis, Kenzie 1
RBI: Panko, Marissa 1 ; Nettling, Sammy 2 ; Petersen, Anna 1 ; Ellis, Kenzie 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Rabin, Sabrina 1 ; Panko, Marissa 1 ; Nelson, Morgan 1 ; Nettling, Sammy 1 ; Petersen, Anna 1 ; Ellis, Kenzie 1
SB: Rabin, Sabrina 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
IF/C
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
IF/OF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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