The script for the Northwestern softball team often involves a dominating pitching performance from Eileen Canney and home runs from sluggers Garland Cooper and Kristen Amegin.
Things didn’t go quite as drawn up Sunday, but the fourth-seeded Wildcats (45-12) still clinched their NCAA Regional by defeating Notre Dame (42-21) at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
After cruising to easy wins on Friday against Southern Illinois and on Saturday against Notre Dame, NU overcame some Irish surprises with a few of their own to earn a 7-4 win.
The Cats, who surpassed the team record for single-season victories on Saturday, will move on to face Massachusetts in the NCAA Super Regionals. The best-of-three series will take place Friday and Saturday at Drysdale Field.
After her complete game, one-hit shutout of Southern Illinois on Friday, Canney had an ERA of less than 1.00 entering Sunday’s contest. But before the fans could even get settled in their seats, the Fighting Irish jumped all over the junior hurler for three runs in the top of the first.
Perhaps the only thing more surprising than the deficit Notre Dame handed NU was the way in which the Cats’ rally began.
Left fielder Katie Logan crushed Notre Dame pitcher Heather Booth’s first offering of the day over the fence in left-center field for her first home run at any level of organized softball. The shot brought NU within two runs and sent Logan into a spirited and visibly inexperienced home run trot.
“I’d never hit a home run in my entire life,” Logan said. “I was just trying to make a connection like I always do. It was pretty exciting.”
The Cats kept the assault going the next inning when second baseman Ashley Crane swatted a two-run long ball that dropped just over left fielder Gessica Hufnagle’s outstretched glove and beyond the fence to tie the game.
With her offense behind her, Canney rebounded from her rough first inning and gave up just one run over the last six, although she admitted she didn’t have her best stuff.
“(The offensive support) was awesome, but I wasn’t surprised because they always answer back with runs,” Canney said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling, and I know they can do it every time.”
Although Amegin and Cooper didn’t provide the big home runs, they did contribute key hits to complete the NU comeback. Amegin tied the game at four with an RBI single in the third and Cooper put the Cats in front for good the next inning with an RBI double.
Shortstop Tammy Williams provided some insurance in the sixth by smoking a line drive over the left-field fence for a two-run homer.
“You have to give Northwestern a lot of credit,” Notre Dame coach Deanna Gumpf said. “They hit the crap out of the ball.”
The same was true the day before, when the Cats chased Booth after she gave up six runs in the first inning of NU’s 9-0 win.
Right fielder Erin Dyer drove in four runs and pitcher Courtnay Foster tossed five shutout innings as NU earned its first mercy-rule victory ever in an NCAA tournament game.
That forced Notre Dame into the consolation bracket. After the Irish beat the Salukis later in the day, they advanced to Sunday’s final but would have had to beat the Cats twice in a row to make it to the Super Regionals.
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