On Senior Day for Northwestern softball, a freshman stole the show for the Wildcats.
Marisa Bast belted her first career grand slam over the fence in left-center field, as NU (23-18, 5-11 Big Ten) beat Indiana (35-16, 15-3) 4-1 to split their weekend series and halt the Hoosiers’ 15-game win streak, the longest in the nation. The Cats put up a valiant fight against the top dog in the Big Ten on Saturday but were shut out 1-0 by the Hoosiers behind 13 strikeouts from Morgan Melloh.
“Clearly we were excited (about Bast’s grand slam),” coach Kate Drohan said. “I thought all of our at-bats (on Sunday) were tough, and for the first time in a while I felt as though we controlled the momentum of the game.”
Sunday’s contest was not the greatest start for senior Jessica Smith, who hit three batters and walked a fourth to spot Indiana an early 1-0 lead. However, Smith settled down and only allowed four more base runners, none of whom reached second base.
“There were a little bit of the usual nerves,” Smith said. “It just took me a little longer to settle in.”
Defense was a big part of Sunday’s contest, and there were several amazing defensive plays. Senior left fielder Jordan Wheeler was robbed of a triple when the Hoosier left fielder dove and caught a line drive down the left field line. Wheeler was robbed again when her line drive between the third baseman and shortstop was snagged by a diving third baseman. Smith also got involved in the defensive action, sticking her glove up to rob Amanda Wagner of a sure RBI hit on a line drive that was directed at Smith’s face.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, my life’s going to end,'” Smith said of the catch. “I didn’t see myself catch it. I didn’t realize I caught it until I brought my glove down and I felt how heavy it was.”
Bast’s home run came at a crucial time for NU. After loading the bases on Saturday and failing to score any runs, the Cats were in need of a big hit to break their offense open. The second baseman had the bases loaded thanks to two infield ground balls that caused some trouble for the Hoosiers and an intentional walk to junior first baseman Adrienne Monka. Bast said while she didn’t feel any extra pressure after Monka was intentionally walked, she knew she needed to make the defense pay for giving the team an extra base runner.
“I was hoping it was out,” Bast said. “Worst comes to worst, it would go onto the warning track and be a sac fly.”
Despite losing her 10th game of the season on Saturday, Smith pitched a fantastic game for the Cats. She only gave up one run on six hits and struck out four to match Melloh, stride-for-stride. The Hoosiers’ lone run came off a triple into the right field corner that plated a runner from first after a one-out single.
“(Smith) threw two great games for us this weekend,” Drohan said. “Senior Day is tricky, but I thought our seniors handled it with great maturity.”
NU’s propensity to swing away played into the strengths of Melloh. The nation’s leader in strikeouts struck out 13 Cats on Saturday to go over 450 K’s on the year. The Cats swung mostly at good pitches, but they were unable to make contact on the heat Melloh threw. The slap hitters in particular had trouble timing Melloh’s pitches because they shorten their reaction time with their style of hitting. NU’s slap hitters were victim to eight of Melloh’s 13 strikeouts.
Senior third baseman Robin Thompson said the team talked about trying to be more disciplined at the plate for Sunday’s matchup. Thompson also said the key for slap hitters against Melloh was to stay closed and to stay short especially on her curveball that moves away from left-handed hitters.
“We talked about swinging at strikes,” Thompson said. “(On Saturday) we swung at too many bad pitches.”
The strikeouts on Saturday led to another weak offensive output for the Cats, who scored no runs on only two hits. Those two hits, a single by sophomore center fielder Kristin Scharkey and a double by senior right fielder Kelly Quinn, sparked the most fruitful opportunities for NU. Scharkey’s single helped the Cats load the bases in the third inning, but a strikeout ended that threat. Quinn neutralized her double herself when she attempted to go to third after the throw escaped the Hoosier third baseman. She was thrown out for the second out of the seventh and squandered what could have been NU’s hope at tying the game.
