Iowa City, Iowa — With the winning run rounding third base during the bottom of the 15th inning in Thursday’s game, Northwestern catcher J.C. Kira moved to block the plate.
“I thought immediately ‘oh crap,'” the junior said. “It was kind of stressful for two seconds there.”
But as Michigan State’s Lacy Hauxhurst chugged toward home, NU center fielder Jessie Wellnitz fired a strike to shortstop Robyn Pettinger, who relayed the ball to Kira. The catcher made a clean tag on Hauxhurst to preserve a scoreless tie.
“It was a great stick by J.C,” NU coach Kate Drohan said.
But that wouldn’t be the highlight of Kira’s day. In the top of the 18th inning, she knocked in the game winning run with a fielder’s choice.
During the first 17 innings of the 1-0 victory, NU’s (33-15, 12-9 Big Ten) bats were unable to provide any offensive production. With the score knotted at zero for more than four hours, Kira and the rest of the NU defense picked up the slack.
Freshman pitcher Courtnay Foster tallied 20 strikeouts against Michigan State (35-15, 13-7) in the shutout, but she said she didn’t do it all by herself.
“We came up with some amazing plays when we had to,” Foster said. “That’s the reason we won the game.”
Playing behind their freshman hurler, the Wildcats didn’t make an error — a far cry from the 14 miscues NU had in its first four games this season.
“When you have a pitcher who is doing such a great job, you feel obligated to do your part,” freshman first baseman Jamie Dotson said. “You don’t want to be the one who messes up.”
During the extra frames, Dotson said NU’s infielders wanted the ball hit to them so they could protect the tie game.
Even as the game dragged into its fourth hour, Drohan said her fielders never lost their concentration.
“The defense was fantastic, especially in pressure situations,” she said. “I attribute a lot of that to the fact that we stayed focused on every single pitch.”
While their defense kept the Cats in the game, their offense was dormant throughout most of the 18-inning affair. The Cats notched 14 hits, but left nine players in scoring position.
During the game’s first seven innings, NU put five runners in scoring position. Still, the team couldn’t come up with a timely hit.
“We came in a little tight,” coach Drohan said. “We were a little nervous, and I think the excitement and energy got to us a little bit. We weren’t just digging in and hitting.”
Even when the Cats finally did score, they did it without a hit. With one out and the bases loaded in the 18th, Kira, the catcher, drove in the winning run with a ground ball to the left side of the infield.
NU first baseman Jamie Dotson cited “bad luck” and Michigan State pitcher Jessica Beech as the biggest factors in keeping the Cats off the scoreboard.
Earlier in the season, NU hitters regularly had trouble cashing in on scoring chances. The Cats have left 10 or more players on base eight times this year.
But after the win, coach Drohan tried to find a positive in leaving so many runners on base.
“Well, they’ve had three games worth of at bats,” Drohan said. “Hopefully they’ll be ready for the next game.”
