Northwestern had Ohio State in about as perfect a situation as the team could ask for, trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday.
Tammy Williams was on second base with nobody out and Adrienne Monka, Michelle Batts and Nicole Pauly – the heart of the lineup – due up.
Two of those players had already hit home runs and it seemed certain the Wildcats’ powerful offense would find an answer and pull out the win.
Ohio State did not give NU the chance, burning through the three power hitters taking a critical 7-6 win Saturday and following it with a dominant 10-1 win Sunday.
The missing element in the two-game series was a calming, dominant presence in the circle.
Earlier in that game, the Cats trailed 5-4 after falling behind by four runs in the top of the seventh inning Saturday. Junior Lauren Delaney had the opportunity to give her team more than a fighting chance to tie it in the bottom – especially with those power hitters coming to the plate.Instead, she gave up a two-run homer to allow the Buckeyes into a more comfortable three-run lead.
Delaney allowed seven runs, 11 walks and struck out just three Saturday. In Sunday’s blowout, she conceded seven runs, walked four and struck out one in two and one-third innings.
One thing was made clear this weekend.No matter how good the offense is, the Cats will only go as far as Delaney will carry them.
She has walked 173 batters this season and has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.69. On her way to winning the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year award last year, Delaney walked 120 batters and had a ratio of 3.84.This year, NU simply has struggled when Delaney has struggled.
The Cats have lost six of their last 10 conference games. In those losses, Delaney has given up an average of 5.3 runs and 7.8 walks per game – and 11.5 walks per seven innings.
Those are numbers that the team should be worried about.
“Basically, it’s time to stop what’s been going on,” said Delaney, who has been aware of her recent shortcomings. “It’s time to make a change.”
Something does need to change. NU’s vaunted offense cannot carry the team forever.In softball, pitching is critical to winning, especially in the postseason.
A pitcher that can strike out any hitter she faces can be the difference between a great season and a championship season.Delaney has faced a lot of batters since taking over as the full-time starter at the beginning of last year. She has been through the fires of the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
She has succeeded in both of those pressure situations, not to mention the February matchups against the nation’s best teams that she has battled through in three years at NU.
Strong pitching has been a staple of Northwestern softball. The Cats have relied on the strong pitching of Courtnay Foster and Eileen Canney to help build the program and take it to the Women’s College World Series in back-to-back years.
It has been absent in big games the past month and NU has lost its grip at the top of the conference. But the Cats need Delaney more than ever now.
They now need Delaney to provide that constant in the circle for the days when the offense cannot score five or six runs.Otherwise, it will be a short postseason for the Cats.
Assistant sports editor Philip Rossman-Reich is a Medill junior. He can be reached at [email protected].
