After a few days of rest, Courtnay Foster showed once again that she’s nearly unhittable.
In her first game back after the Big Ten tournament, the freshman hurler threw a one-hitter to lead the Northwestern softball team to victory in the first round of the NCAA regionals on Thursday. The No. 2 seed Wildcats (36-17) squeezed out a 2-1 win over No. 7 seed Tennessee Tech (41-15).
Thursday’s win in 87-degree heat marked the third time this season that Foster has held an opponent to one hit.
But her performance against the Golden Eagles on Thursday wasn’t exactly pretty.
In seven innings of work, NU’s ace walked six batters.
Coach Kate Drohan blamed those walks on the umpire’s tight strike zone, but said Foster will have to get used to it.
“Her curveball was missing because of a half inch,” Drohan said. “We need to move it a little bit, and we’ll be in business.”
Foster didn’t get much help from her offense. The Cats managed only four hits and left eight players on base. Despite four Tennessee Tech errors, NU could barely capitalize.
“Maybe we were a little too excited or too nervous,” Drohan said.
In the second inning, second baseman Sheila McCorkle got the Cats started with a two-out RBI double to left center.
“It felt great to finally hit the ball well,” McCorkle said. “I just wanted to get us on the board.”
Since McCorkle was inserted in the starting lineup midway through the Big Ten tournament, replacing the injured Carrie Leto, she has been hitting the ball well. The freshman has four hits in her last 12 at-bats.
The Cats tacked on another run in the third when senior Brett Nakabayashi scored from third on a Golden Eagles’ error.
Although Drohan expressed disappointment with her squad after the game, the Cats earned their first victory in the double-elimination tournament.
“It’s winning,” Nakabayashi said. “You want the confidence and you don’t want to be in the losers bracket — especially out here in this heat.”
With the victory, the Cats move on to face No. 6 Southwest Texas State today at 2 p.m. The Bobcats notched a 1-0 upset Thursday over No. 3 Arizona State.
In each of the eight regional brackets, eight teams vie for a spot in the eight-team College World Series.
NU will have to watch out for Southwest Texas State pitcher Nicole Neuerberg, who allowed two hits and fanned six in her complete-game shutout.
The Cats expect a fairly large local crowd for the Bobcats in Austin, Texas, but Drohan said the Cats will be ready.
Last weekend — with 600 fans cheering for host Iowa in the championship game of the Big Ten tournament — NU’s defense had some trouble communicating.
For the first time this season, the Cats will play before a national television audience.
The game will be broadcasted by ESPN2 at 6 p.m., but Drohan said she’ll have to convince her team that it’s just a regular game.
“That’s pretty darn exciting,” Drohan said. “I think if anything, I need to play it down.”
