Entering the weekend series against Illinois, coach Kate Drohan and associate head coach Caryl Drohan were just two games from eclipsing 800 coaching wins.
Although the Wildcats (20-12-1, 9-1-0 Big Ten) failed to remain undefeated in Big Ten play, they clinched the series and the Drohans’ 800th wins in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday afternoon, defeating the Fighting Illini (15-19-0, 2-7-0 Big Ten) 8-2.
Thus, Kate Drohan became the 30th active Division I head coach to reach 800 career wins.
A day earlier, graduate student pitcher Lauren Boyd opened the weekend on the mound for the ’Cats, willing her team to a 4- 3 victory behind her third straight complete game.
After Illinois scored one run in the first inning, the bats went quiet on both sides until the fourth inning. NU rattled off five hits in the bottom of the fourth, plating four runs to take a 4-1 lead.
Boyd escaped jams in the fifth and sixth innings but allowed the Fighting Illini to fight back and score two runs in the top of the seventh. With the tying run on base, she notched her seventh strikeout of the game, sealing the win for the ’Cats.
The second game of the series was played on Sunday morning. It was announced the previous evening that a doubleheader would be played as a result of weather threats on Monday evening.
The beginning of this contest began slow on the offensive side, similar to the prior contest. Illinois then failed to bring home multiple baserunners, while NU didn’t get a player on base until the fourth inning.
The stalemate was broken in the bottom of the fifth, when junior infielder Bridget Donahey crushed her team-leading seventh home run over the left-field fence.
Sophomore pitcher Riley Grudzielanek shut down the Fighting Illini’s hitters, recording seven strikeouts in the first four innings. Her 11 total was a career high. However, in the top of the sixth, with NU still clinging onto the 1-0 lead, she allowed two singles. An error from Donahey allowed one run to score, and a single from the next batter plated the second run.
With two innings remaining, the ’Cats were unable to produce on the offensive side. Back-to-back flyouts with runners on base in the seventh would end the game in favor of the Fighting Illini. With that, NU was handed its first conference loss of the season.
Freshman pitcher Emma Blea made the start as the ’Cats looked to bounce back and end the series on a high note. Unlike the previous two games, the bats got hot early for NU. Two of the first three hitters reached base before junior infielder Kansas Robinson batted in both runs on a single, her third and fourth RBIs of the series.
That wouldn’t be the end of Robinson’s afternoon. In the third inning, after Illinois tied the game at 2-2, Robinson sent a ball out of the park to left-center with a runner on base, providing NU with yet another two-run lead.
The ’Cats’ scoring didn’t stop. The team recorded four more runs in their final three innings. Senior infielder Grace Nieto joined in on the long-ball action, adding a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Redshirt first-year pitcher Signe Dohse took over for Blea in the third inning and pitched lights out, giving up just one hit in her four and two-thirds innings of work.
Despite dropping the second game of the series, NU still holds a share of first place in the conference with its 9-1 record.
The ’Cats continue their homestand when they face Nebraska starting on April 12.
Email: j.mcclure@dailynorthwestern.com
X: @jemccl125
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