April 18, 2006
The University of Notre Dame softball team (26-13) suffered another frustrating loss to a ranked team on Tuesday by a single run as the #17 Northwestern (30-10) rallied with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge the Irish 3-2.
Earlier this season, Notre Dame held leads against #4 Texas and #6 Alabama, only to see the loss eventually come by one run. The pattern held in Evanston on Tuesday, as Notre Dame jumped to a 2-0 lead early in the game but were unable to hold the edge.
Mallorie Lenn starred on offense for the Irish, going three for four at the plate with an RBI. Senior Sara Schoonaert also contributed an RBI for the Irish who lost their third consecutive game to Northwestern dating back to the 2005 NCAA regionals at Ivy Field.
Heather Booth took the loss for Notre Dame , falling to 14-9 on the season. Booth pitched solid throughout the game, but was doomed by eight walks – including one to Northwestern’s leadoff batter to begin the bottom of the seventh inning.
Notre Dame will be back in action tomorrow at Ivy Field with a single game against Toledo at 5:00 p.m.
GAME RECAP:
Notre Dame escaped the bottom of the first inning as Booth limped her way through the heart of the Northwestern batting order. After recording an out on a foul pop and a nice catch by Lenn at the fence, Booth hit the next batter and issued two walks to load the bases with no outs.
The Irish senior pitcher stood her ground, however. She forced another foul pop to Lenn and a ground ball to end the inning and force the Wildcats to strand their first three baserunners of the contest.
Notre Dame seized the lead in the top of the third inning by taking advantage of a NU defensive miscue. With two outs, Stephanie Brown reached on a two-base throwing error by Tammy Williams. Williams not only dropped the ball to allow Brown to reach, but she also threw wide of first base allowing Brown the opportunity to advance into scoring position.
Schoonaert made the Wildcats pay for the mistake when she lofted a single into shallow centerfield for the first RBI of the game. Lenn then stepped in, fell behind in the count 0-2 and recovered to drill a double into the right-centerfield gap to put the Irish up 2-0.
Booth’s defense helped her escape from the third inning unscathed. She gave up her first hit of the game to Katie Logan to put the lead off hitter of the inning on first. She then struck out Williams looking and Lenn made a great throw from her knees to cut down Logan on the `strike `em out – throw `em out.’
Pitching carefully to NU All-American Garland Cooper, Booth issued her second walk of the game to the Wildcat first base. Jamie Dotson stepped in next and roped a single toward the right side. Notre Dame’s Laing, ranging far to her left, made a diving stop and threw Logan out from her knees to end the inning.
The Irish defense also cut down a possible scoring opportunity in the fourth inning when Booth issued a leadoff walk. After a strikeout, Notre Dame turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Northwestern cut into Notre Dame’s lead when Booth decided to go after Garland Cooper with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. With a 2-1 count, Cooper crushed her eighth home run of the year to rightfield and the Irish lead fell to a single run.
The big hit seemed to shake Booth’s confidence late in the game. She came back to issue a four-pitch walk to Jamie Dotson, then hit Kristen Amegin with a pitch to put two runners on and still just one out on the scoreboard.
Sheila McCorkle followed with a ground out to short stop to move both runners into scoring position with two outs. Booth then issued yet another walk, this time to Erin Dyer to load the bases for Ashley Crane.
The inning mercifully ended for the Irish on a routine ground ball to second base and for the second time in the game, Northwestern left the bases loaded to end an inning.
Notre Dame loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning in an effort to add some additional insurance to their one run lead. All three runners reached with two outs against relief pitcher Courtnay Foster, as Schoonaert and Meagan Ruthrauff drew a walk sandwiched around a Lenn single.
Foster quickly doused the scoring chance, however, striking out Katie Laing on three pitches to end the inning.
Booth did not make the bottom of the seventh inning easy for herself. She walked the leadoff hitter and the ninth batter in the NU batting order on four pitches to place the tying run at first base. Northwestern immediately sacrificed the runner to second base as Williams stepped in.
Williams grounded out to first base unassisted for the second out of the inning. Cooper was due next for the Wildcats, but she was intentionally walked to put runners on the corners and the Irish needing just one out.
The out would not be delivered in time, however. Dotson looped a single to centerfield easily scoring the tying run and Northwestern was still in business with runners on first and second.
Amegin ended the game by hitting a 2-1 pitch up the middle of the Irish defense as Notre Dame dropped yet another one-run game to a ranked opponent.
GAME NOTES: Katie Laing extended her season long hitting streak to seven games with a single in the second inning … Mallorie Lenn posted a bunt single in the top of the fifth inning for her second hit of the game.