Until the offensive floodgates opened for Northwestern, the Wildcats relied on freshman pitcher Amy Letourneau to keep University of Illinois at Chicago off the scoreboard.
Letourneau did just that, dodging trouble in the early going to toss six-plus innings, leading the Cats past the Flames 7-2 on Wednesday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
“We started with being strong on the mound,” coach Kate Drohan said. “Amy had great command, used several of her pitches and was changing speeds well. I really liked the way she took control of the game.”
Despite allowing base runners, Letourneau worked effectively in clutch situations. In the second inning, with runners in scoring position and one out, she gloved a line drive and flipped the ball to second base to turn a double play and end the scoring threat. Letourneau, credited her positive mentality for helping her stay calm in crucial situations.
“I think it’s really about confidence,” she said. “I’ve been working really hard on my mental game, just pulling it from inside and knowing that this is what I live for.”
NU (12-17) capitalized on several defensive miscues to mount an early advantage. The Flames (14-15) squandered a strong performance from junior hurler Devin Miller by committing four errors, and the Cats took advantage. NU cracked the scoreboard in the third when UIC shortstop Natalie Hernandez fielded a groundball cleanly, but made an errant throw that struck sophomore left fielder Mari Majam as she tried to advance to third. Sophomore center fielder Kristin Scharkey scored on the error and the Cats led from then on.
NU’s three top hitters – Emily Allard, Adrienne Monka, and Marisa Bast – combined to hit just 2-for-9 against the Flames. Because of this, the Cats relied on unlikely offensive heroes. In the fourth inning, Majam hit a seeing-eye single to center field, driving home two runs to give NU a three-run lead.
Freshman outfielder Olivia Duehr, who showed her patience on several occasions, added to the lead in the sixth with an RBI single. Then, looking to add insurance runs, sophomore pitcher Sammy Albanese drilled a three-run homer, the first of her career, to left field, making it a 7-0 game.
“Oh, I had a plan going in: the pitch I wanted to hit, what I was going to do with it,” Albanese said. “She threw it where I wanted it. It was just the most amazing feeling to finally hit one at the ‘J.'”
Trouble arrived in the seventh when Letourneau walked three batters without recording an out. Just minutes after what was perhaps the best hit of her career, Albanese was called from the bullpen to close out the Flames.
“We had a nice cushion for a lead so I just focused on getting outs,” Albanese said. “I think I executed pretty well.”
After walking in a run to let the Flames cut their lead to 7-2, Albanese settled down, retiring the next three hitters, two of them on strikeouts. She said strong team defense was especially important.
“I’m gonna roll Allard a ground ball, and I know she’s going to make it,” she said. “Having that security with my defense behind me is invaluable.”
