Wright State falls to second-seeded Northwestern, 4-1, in first game of NCAA Regional
May 18, 2007
No. 2 Northwestern 4, Wright State 1 - Box ScoreEvanston, Ill. - One inning proved to be the difference as the #6 ranked Northwestern Wildcats scored four in the third and made that stand up for a 4-1 decision over Wright State Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Softball Regionals in Evanston, Ill.
The Raiders had an opportunity to score in the first as, with two outs, Jherica Williams singled just off the glove of the second baseman intoright center and went to third on two passed balls, but Northwesternstarter Lauren Delaney (19-2) pitched out of the jam by getting KristenFarley to ground out to third.
Wright State starter Allison Cox (15-14) was also able to escape threats by the Wildcats over the first two innings, stranding two baserunners in the first and one more at third in the second.
Northwestern's speed at the top of the order, however, set the stage for the decisive third as leadoff batter Katie Logan singled up the middle and Tammy Williams followed with a hit to short. A Garland Cooper grounder to second moved both runners up a base and both came in to score as Nicole Pauley doubled along the right field line. One outlater, Jessica Rigas smacked a two-run home run to left to make 4-0.
The Raiders answered back with a run of their own in the fourth asWilliams and Farley were each hit by a pitch and after both runnersadvanced a base on a slow roller off the bat of Jacqueline Macy, EricaSchroeder's grounder up the middle was knocked down by Delaney, but shecould not recover in time to get Schroeder as Williams scored.
Jamie Perkins kept the margin right there over the next three innings,leaving two on base in the fourth and three more in the sixth. TheWright State offense, however, went quiet over the final three inningsas Eileen Canney picked up her fourth save of the year, retiring allnine batters she faced with four strikeouts.
Wright State, now 25-34 on the season, takes on Notre Dame, who droppeda 2-1 decision to Illinois State in the first game of the day, in aloser's bracket game Saturday at 2:30 Eastern. Should the Raiders win,they would face the Northwestern/Illinois State loser at 5:00 Dayton time.
