Feb. 14, 2009

Box Score

LAS VEGAS -- In the city that never sleeps, softball fans with the same affliction witnessed an exciting, back-and-forth affair between two of the sport's titans, with No. 4 UCLA coming out on top against No. 13 Northwestern, 16-10, at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in a game featuring three lead changes and seven home runs.

The loss drops Northwestern to 3-3 on the season while UCLA improves to 5-1 with the victory.

The first pitch of the ballgame took place at 12:31 a.m. CT (10:31 p.m. local time), and Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) drove the second offering from UCLA starter Donna Kerr (3-1) into right field for a leadoff single. Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) then dumped a ball just inside the left-field line for a double, moving Williams to third. Kerr then hit Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) with a pitch to load the bases with no outs.

One out later, senior Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) fisted a single into left to score both Williams and Thompson and give Northwestern an early 2-0 lead. After another out, freshman Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) hit a ball seemingly straight up in the air, where it got caught in the jet stream and sailed over both fences at Eller Media Stadium for a 5-0 advantage before the 'Cats even took the field. The blast was the first of Monka's career.

Northwestern starter Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) issued a leadoff walk to UCLA in the bottom of the first, but Williams got her out of the inning by catching a one-out liner and firing to first to double off the runner and end the frame. Delaney did the work herself in the bottom of the second, fanning the side by way of the swinging whiff.

UCLA put together a big rally in the bottom of the third, sandwiching walks around a Delaney strikeout before getting a single to load the bases with one down. The next batter hit a long fly ball down the left-field line that looked destined for foul territory, but the wind carried it over the fence for a grand slam to slice the Northwestern lead to one, 5-4. The Bruins then parlayed two more walks into runs after a wild pitch and an infield single to take the lead, 6-5, before Delaney fanned the final batter to end the scoring.

Northwestern responded right away in the top of fourth when Monka ripped her second home run of the game -- and of her career -- to bring the game back into a tie, 6-6.

UCLA struck back again in the bottom half of the frame, getting its leadoff batter on via an error before a two-out double later in the inning brought her home for a 7-6 Bruin advantage.

In what was fast becoming the best game of the year nobody was awake for, Northwestern came roaring back again in the top of the fifth. With one out, Thompson was hit by a Kerr pitch and Pauly followed with a two-run bomb to right to push the Wildcats back into the lead, 8-7. The blast was Pauly's second of the day, third of the season and 32nd of her career to move her into fourth all time at NU all by herself. She also went yard in NU's daytime win against Hawaii.

After her offense got the lead back, Delaney came out in the bottom of the fifth and protected it by fanning the side for the second time in the game to give her nine Ks in the game.

The Wildcats earned another run with a two-out rally in the sixth. Ashley Lafever (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) knocked a single into left that got by the fielder for an error, allowing Lafever to move to second. Pinch hitter Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) drew a walk before Williams singled into left to bring Lafever home and make the lead two, 9-7.

As would be expected, UCLA grabbed the lead back in the bottom of the sixth. Two leadoff walks followed by back-to-back home runs turned into an 11-9 Bruin lead when the third and fourth batters to the plate hit the game's fifth and sixth homers. As the inning wore on, Delaney eventually left the game in favor of Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport), but UCLA continued to take advantage of walks and miscues to reach a seven-run lead, 16-9.

Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) clubbed a solo homer in the top of the seventh, but Northwestern was unable to come all the way back in the frame that began at 3 a.m. CT/1 a.m. local.

Delaney (3-3) was strapped with the loss, allowing 14 runs (12 earned) on seven hits and seven walks with nine strikeouts. Dyer pitched one inning, allowing two runs (none earned) on a hit and two walks.

Williams, Thompson and Monka all had two hits for NU, while Thompson, Pauly and Monka all scored twice. Monka drove in four runs and Pauly and Erin Dyer each knocked in a pair.

Northwestern returns to action at 1:15 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 14, against Oregon at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic. NU also faces Southern Utah at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.

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