Softball posts 3-2 record at Palm Springs Classic
Facing a slew of tough teams at the Palm Springs Classic this weekend in Cathedral City, Calif., Northwestern had its ups and downs.
The No. 2 Wildcats posted a 3-2 mark to move to 6-2 on the season. Highlighting the weekend were sophomore Lauren Delaney’s no-hitter against Oregon on Friday and wins over No. 6 LSU and No. 25 Texas on Saturday.
But NU also suffered its first two losses. The Cats were upset by unranked San Diego State on Friday and fell to No. 11 UCLA on Sunday.
The tournament was a mixed bag for Delaney. She dominated in the circle against the Ducks, striking out 17 on the way to her second career no-hitter. But she also took the loss in relief against the Aztecs and surrendered two home runs during a five-run fourth in the loss to the Bruins.
Offensively, shortstop Tammy Williams led the way for NU by going 8-for-12, while second baseman Nicole Pauly smacked a three-run sixth-inning homer to key the Cats’ comeback win over LSU.
Lacrosse dominates in 21-4 win over Rutgers
No. 1 Northwestern continued its quest for a fourth straight national championship with a 21-4 blowout win at Rutgers on Sunday.
Sophomore midfielder Danielle Spencer and preseason All-American Hannah Nielsen led the Wildcats with four goals each. Nielsen added four assists for the Wildcats, who improved to 2-0 after last week’s 16-9 win over California.
NU dominated Rutgers from the start, jumping out to a 12-2 halftime lead behind 23 shots in the first period.
The Cats, behind junior goalkeeper Morgan Lathrop, had four saves.
Junior midfielder/attacker Hilary Bowen followed up her six-goal outing against the Golden Bears with three goals against the Scarlet Knights. Nine different players scored for NU, including Casey Donohoe (3), Brooke Matthews (2), Ali Jacobs (2), Rachel Fox (1), Meghan Plunkett (1) and Katrina Dowd (1).
The Cats continue their East Coast swing at Hofstra (2-0) on Tuesday.
Baseball wins 2 of 3 at Cal State Northridge
Northwestern opened its season with a bang Friday and kept the hits coming all weekend, taking two of three games in a series at Cal State Northridge.
The Wildcats exploded for a nine-run third inning in the first game to take an 11-0 lead they would never relinquish. Senior Mike Kalina had a three-run homer in the inning and finished with four RBIs to lead NU to a 13-7 win.
With Saturday’s game tied at 2 in the top of the ninth, freshman Nate Roberts hit a single up the middle to bring home Tommy Finn and gave the Cats a 3-2 victory and secure the series victory.
In the final game, NU squandered an early five-run lead and fell to the Matadors, 17-9, in seven innings. Roberts followed his game-winning hit Saturday with his first collegiate home run in the third inning.
But his offense wasn’t enough to help NU’s bullpen, as the first eight Matadors reached base in the sixth en route to their 12-run inning that blew open the game.
Kalina led NU on the weekend, batting .500 (7 of 14) and knocking in eight runs.
