On paper, Northwestern’s doubleheader against Indiana on Saturday looked like a mismatch.
The Wildcats entered the game ranked eighth in the country with a 20-7 record. The Hoosiers arrived occupying the bottom of the Big Ten with a 5-24 record.
Still, the Cats managed to produce a historic day at Sharon J. Drysdale field – all before dinner.
In a day highlighted by two tape-measure home runs, fans witnessed sophomore Kelly Quinn produce a career day, sophomore Jessica Smith pitch for the first time all year, and coach Kate Drohan pick up her 300th win.
“I love this place,” Drohan said. “And (assistant coach) Caryl (Drohan) and I have been fortunate enough to have terrific players and terrific staff. That’s how you get 300 wins.”
The twin sisters picked up their 299th win in the first game against Indiana (5-26, 1-5), but it did not come easily.
Through three innings, NU (22-7, 8-0 Big Ten) had managed only one hit against Indiana starting pitcher Sara Olson. But with the game tied at zero in the bottom of the fourth inning, junior infielder Nicole Pauly blasted a 2-2 offering onto the roof of McGaw Hall. Pauly’s solo shot was only the second home run to hit the roof in the history of Sharon J. Drysdale field.
Thanks to another great outing from junior pitcher Lauren Delaney, who no-hit the Hoosiers through five innings, NU held the lead until the top of the sixth. With two outs, Indiana shortstop Emily Bergeson launched a game-tying home run, knotting the score at one..
The tie didn’t last long. In the bottom half of the frame, the Cats scraped together two runs on two hits and an error. Delaney retired the side in the top half of the seventh to complete the 3-1 victory and earn her 20th win of the season.
For Pauly, the home run was the 38th of her career, passing senior Erin Dyer for third on the all-time list. Not to be outdone, Dyer homered in her first at-bat of the second game to again pull even with Pauly.
Dyer’s bomb ignited the Cats’ bats, and they went on to score two more runs in the second inning. But home runs weren’t NU’s only means of scoring. Quinn broke out of a season-long slump, going 2-for-2 in the second game and helping the Cats to an 8-0 run-rule victory over the Hoosiers. On the day, Quinn went 4-for-5, good enough to raise her batting average 88 points to .171.
“I’ve had a lot of confidence in my coaches in the last few weeks of practice,” Quinn said. “I got off to a pretty rough start to the season, but every time I see one more pitch, I feel a little bit more comfortable.”
In the circle, Delaney had little problem handling the Hoosiers. She surrended only four hits while compiling three strikeouts in four innings of work.
After pitching every inning of Big Ten play, Delaney finally got a rest at the end of the second game. In her first appearance of the season, Smith did not disappoint, facing four batters and throwing 11 of her 18 pitches for strikes.
“It felt really great,” said Smith, who hadn’t pitched since April 29, 2008. “I had a lot of adrenaline rushing, and I was just so happy to be out there.”
