Against Northern Illinois on Wednesday, No. 11 Northwestern did what it does best: hit home runs.
The Wildcats sent five over the fence in six innings on their way to a 6-4 win over the Huskies at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
“Home runs have always been a firestarter for this team,” Erin Dyer said. “It’s been something that we rely on, and we win games with home runs. So they’re pretty important in our offensive attack.”
After two strikeouts in the first inning and a groundout to start the second, Dyer got the team back on track. The senior catcher blasted the first pitch she saw from Northern Illinois pitcher Joreigh Landers over the left field fence.
One inning later, senior shortstop Tammy Williams followed suit, crushing the first pitch she saw from Landers to the exact same spot.
While sophomore pitcher Jessica Smith had been effective to that point, she found herself in trouble in the top of the fourth.
After surrendering only one hit in the first three innings, Smith gave up back-to-back singles to Jenna Roberts and Andrea Colosimo. Then Bailey Ouellette doubled down the right field line, plating both runners to tie the game.
Smith was unable to settle down in the fifth, giving up two more runs on a home run and a double.
With one out, coach Kate Drohan pulled Smith for junior Lauren Delaney. Delaney retired the first two batters she faced, but the Cats (28-9) entered the bottom half of the inning trailing by one run.
With two outs in the Cats’ half of the fifth, Williams came through again.
The senior hit her 56th career home run, putting her first on NU’s all time list.
“It’s amazing,” said Williams, of breaking Garland Cooper’s record of 55 career home runs. “It’s something that is a huge accomplishment for me.”
But the Cats’ offense wasn’t finished.
One inning later, junior Nicole Pauly and Dyer hit back-to-back home runs to give NU a two-run cushion.
The Huskies (11-32) had the tying run on first in the top of the seventh, but Delaney got Roberts to strike out swinging to end the game.
Drohan was pleased with the performances of Smith and Delaney.
“I thought Delaney’s rhythm was very good today, ” Drohan said. “I was really pleased with some of the adjustments she made. Jessica Smith was very aggressive out there, and I really liked her composure on the mound.”
Going into the game, the Cats’ 63 home runs were good enough for first in the Big Ten, and their 1.75 home-runs-per-game mark was good enough for second in the nation.
Despite hitting five home runs, tying the Big Ten single-game record for the year, that was not the Cats’ approach at the plate.
“What I was pleased with today was that we weren’t swinging for the fences,” Drohan said. “We were just using the pitch, and we stayed with our feet and we were able to drive the ball. And that’s really important, especially this time of year for us not to rely on it.”
