April 19, 2008

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. -- As anticipated rains dissipated into a beautiful day Saturday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field, No. 13 Northwestern's offense and pitching combined into a perfect storm to give the Wildcats a resounding 13-0, five-inning victory over Indiana.

The win improves Northwestern to 26-10 overall on the year, 11-1 in the Big Ten. Indiana's loss drops it to 12-30 on the season, 2-10 in the conference.

While the Wildcat offense was pounding out 13 runs on 13 hits in four frames at the plate, sophomore Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) collected her fifth no-hitter of the season to improve to 24-6 on the year. Delaney fanned eight and walked just one for her third no-no in conference play. She now is tied with famed Northwestern hurler Lisa Ishikawa for the most no-hitters in a single season, a feat Ishikawa performed in both 1984 and 1987.

For NU at the bat, its eight-hit, nine-run fourth inning was the highest scoring single inning in the seven-year Drohan era. The next best was an eight-run outburst in the fifth inning of a 16-0 victory over St. Mary's in March 24, 2005.

The Dyer sisters got the party started in tag-team fashion in the bottom of the second inning, leading off the frame with back-to-back solo home runs. Junior Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) kicked off the sister act with a line drive over the fence in left, her team-leading ninth home run of the season and her Big Ten-best seventh in league play. Sophomore Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) then followed with a shot over the fence in center for her fourth homer of the year.

Later in the inning, designated player Emily Haug (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias) lined a double into the gap in right-center before being replaced by pinch runner Ashley Lafever (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley). Lafever then stole third followed by a walk from Indiana starter Jennifer Moore to freshman Robin Thompson (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King), which caused the Hoosiers to replace Moore in the circle with Sara Olson.

Junior Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) then followed a Thompson steal of second with a sharp single back up the middle, sending Lafever and Thompson around to score to give NU a 4-0 lead in the contest.

In the bottom of the fourth, Northwestern exploded for nine runs on eight hits in that frame alone. Haug led off with her second double of the game, this one hitting the fence in left center on the fly. She then moved to third on a sizzling groundout from pinch hitter Darcy Sengewald (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) that nearly bowled Olson over in the circle. Thompson followed with a double to center to score Haug.

A single by freshman Jordan Wheeler (Garden Grove, Calif./Los Alamitos) moved Thompson to third, then Olson hit Williams with a pitch to load the bases still with one out. Freshman Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) followed with a single through the right side to plate Thompson and Wheeler to make the score 7-0. Williams moved to third on the play. Sophomore Aly Euler (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) replaced Batts at first, then stole second base.

Keeping the inning flowing, sophomore Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) lifted a single into left to send Williams and Euler home to push the game into run-rule territory, 9-0. An Indiana error on a grounder by Erin Dyer put runners at first and second before Kelly Dyer hit a Texas-leaguer single behind the bag at second to score Pauly. Haug then singled through the right side to again load the bases before Sengewald shot a single through the left side of the infield to drive in Erin Dyer.

A walk to pinch hitter Jessica Rigas (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) forced in Kelly Dyer, then Indiana re-entered Moore into the circle. She issued a run-scoring walk to Wheeler to complete the nine-run fourth inning.

Haug finished with her first-career three hit game, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored. Kelly Dyer and Michelle Batts each added a pair of hits, while Williams, Batts, Pauly and Kelly Dyer drove in two runs each. The Dyer sisters, Haug and Thompson all crossed the plate twice.

Northwestern returns to action at noon CT tomorrow, Sunday, April 20, with a doubleheader against Purdue at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.