If great pitching and a potent offense is the winning formula for Northwestern, then DePaul provided the perfect poison.
The Blue Demons shut out the Wildcats’ offense and tacked nine hits and four earned runs on pitchers Eileen Canney and Courtnay Foster in a 4-0 victory over NU on Friday.
“I definitely don’t think we played our game today, ” NU coach Kate Drohan said. “I would like to see us more aggressive defensively. I think they were a little bit tight out there.”
The loss puts the Cats just one loss away from elimination, and they will have to beat the Blue Demons twice tomorrow to advance to the College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., next week.
Having their backs to the wall needing two wins to advance isn’t something new to the Cats. It’s the same situation they faced last week against Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., in the NCAA regionals.
“I think it’s definitely a strong advantage for us,” Drohan said. “Notre Dame is a strong opponent is is DePaul. We have the stamina to do it, I think we have the pitching to do it. Mentally, we know we can do it. So it’s a matter of execution at this point, and playing our aggressive style from the start.”
DePaul started the game out quickly, scoring a run in the first on an RBI blooper into shallow left field. Though Canney got out of the bases-loaded jam to end the inning, the Cats appeared to be lacking energy.
With no offensive production or momentum, NU seemed to be playing with fire every time DePaul came to bat. In the third inning, the Cats paid for it. DePaul third baseman Jenny Doezie hit a two-run home run to extend DePaul’s lead to 3-0.
The Cats challenged in the bottom of the third with a two-out rally. Sophomore Katie Logan and freshman Stephanie Churchwell both got on base with blooper singles to left field. But the rally was extinguished when Erin Mobley hit a hard single to center field, and Logan was thrown out at home on a perfect throw from DePaul centerfielder Linda Secka to end the inning.
After DePaul put runners on base in the fourth, Drohan decided to bring sophomore Courtnay Foster into the game in relief of Canney. Foster got out of the fourth unscathed, but was unable to hold the Blue Demons scoreless in the fifth.
After giving up a walk and a perfect bunt single from Secka, a sacrifice fly scored a run, though Secka was thrown out in a run down between first and second to end the inning.
In perhaps the lone bright spot of the day for the Cats, Mobley broke the career hits record with her 216th-career hit that bounced off of the leg of DePaul pitcher Megan Huitink in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“It feels great, it’s something I feel proud of,” Mobley said. “I have a joke with my dad that I’m just renting the records I get this year because of (sophomore) Garland (Cooper) and (Churchwell).”
Reach Paul Tenorio at [email protected].
