CHICAGO – No. 11 Northwestern’s mood on Tuesday night reflected the unlit Cacciatore Field as the Wildcats walked away from a long day at DePaul.
The Cats dropped two games in a rare weekday doubleheader against a pair of top-25 teams in the DePaul Invitational.
NU dropped its first game to Alabama 6-5 in eight innings and lost the nightcap 5-3 after the game was called in the bottom of the fifth due to darkness. Sandwiched between the Cats’ two games was another eight-inning battle that saw the Blue Demons defeat the Crimson Tide 1-0.
In the opener NU took a 4-2 lead into the seventh inning thanks in part to a three-run homer courtesy of junior catcher Erin Dyer.
But the defense collapsed. Errors in the infield by Nicole Pauly at second base and Tammy Williams at shortstop led to two Alabama runs, sending the game into extra innings.
Because of the international tiebreaker, each inning after the seventh begins with the player who made the last out in the previous inning on second base.
That rule gave NU the momentum initially. Sophomore Ashley Lafever pinch ran for freshman Michelle Batts and was advanced to third on a sacrifice by Pauly. Erin Dyer’s infield single brought her home to give NU a 5-4 lead.
Alabama answered back with two runs of their own off of NU starter Lauren Delaney in the second half of the inning, clinching the victory.
Three of the six runs that Delaney allowed in the game were unearned, and she struck out nine Crimson Tide.
This marked the second time in 48 hours that the Cats blew a two-run lead in the seventh inning. NU’s 2-0 lead in the seventh inning Sunday at No. 6 Michigan evaporated late, as the Wolverines scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning.
“I think that we got tense in the 7th inning in the first game,” Pauly said. “We made errors that we shouldn’t have made, and we kind of let that one slip away from us.”
Freshman Jessica Smith started the nightcap, which began more than an hour after its scheduled start time because of the two extra-inning games that preceded it. The players said they knew the game was in jeopardy of being shortened due to nightfall.
“We knew coming in that we were starting late, and (Cacciatore Field) not having lights is a huge factor,” junior Tammy Williams said. “So I think that we knew that we just really needed to attack the ball a little bit better and put some runs up on that board.”
NU came out and did exactly that. A Pauly RBI single in the first scored Williams, and a Williams double in the second plated freshman Kelly Quinn.
But DePaul responded, sending all nine hitters to the plate in the bottom of the second. The Blue Demons’ four-run inning was once again aided by the Cats’ defensive miscues, leaving Smith responsible for half of the four runs.
With darkness looming, DePaul’s first two hitters made two quick outs on errant bunt attempts, seeing only three pitches total. The Blue Demons tacked on another run on a solo home run by Becca Heteniak, who started at first base.
NU rallied in the fifth, scoring a run on an RBI double by sophomore Kelly Dyer. But DePaul called on Heteniak to close the door, as she struck out the side, leaving the bases full with Cats. One out into the bottom of the fifth, the game was finally called, sealing a 5-3 victory for DePaul.
“You just try to really hit the ball hard and really score in those first few innings,” Williams said of the shortened games. “We’re really good at scoring in the seventh inning and you can’t really leave it up to that in these games.”
NU has now lost its last three games – all to nationally ranked opponents, and all in an unfortunate fashion. Though the team will look to rebound this weekend against Michigan State, coach Kate Drohan was disappointed with the way Tuesday’s games unfolded.
“I mean we were in both ball games, and we made mistakes – too many runners, too many runs,” she said. “It’s disappointing.”
