April 19, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State softball drew within one run in the fifth inning but could not hold off Northwestern as the Wildcats took game one of the series, 8-3, Friday evening at Beard Field and Nittany Lion Softball Park. After the teams waited out an hour and a half delay, Northwestern used a three-run first and a five-run sixth to overpower a trio of one-run innings from the Blue and White.
The Nittany Lions (11-28, 2-12 Big Ten) and Wildcats (23-16, 7-5 Big Ten) meet again at 4 p.m. Saturday before closing the set with a 1 p.m. showdown Sunday.
Junior Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) notched a double and a pair of singles to tie a career-high as she finished 3-4 at the plate while senior Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.) singled and scored twice against Northwestern. Classmate Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) drew three walks to tie her career-high for the third time this season while cranking a single to finish 1-1 and score a run in the seventh. Senior Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.) tallied her fourth multi-RBI game of the year with two while producing a hit and a walk.
Macy Jones (10-13) (Ashburn, Va.) started the game for Penn State and lasted 5.2 innings in the circle, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits while striking out three Wildcats. Senior Rachel Myers closed out the contest with 1.1 scoreless innings and one strikeout. Northwestern's Amy Letourneau (15-9) earned the win with the complete-game effort.
The Wildcats pounced in the opening frame, taking advantage of Penn State's lone error of the night and notching a pair of hits to knock in three runs.
Hutchinson opened the third by dropping the first pitch of her at-bat down the first base line on a bunt to reach safely and extend her hitting streak to four games. After Bell walked for the second time of the night to put runners on first and second, Jones moved them both a base with a sacrifice bunt toward the third baseman. The Northwestern second baseman fielded a hard grounder up the middle by Johnson and threw her out at first, but it allowed Hutchinson to race the final 60 feet home to cut the lead to 3-1.
Hutchinson again led off with a single in the fifth, sending a sharp liner that the NU third baseman could not handle. Bell followed up with her third walk and Jones again moved the two runners to second and third. This time Johnson sliced a shot to right field to bring home Hutchinson and put Bell on third, cutting the lead to 3-2. Alicia Walker (Los Alamitos, Calif.) came in to run for Johnson and immediately stole second but the two Lion runners were left in place.
With the wind blowing out to center field, Northwestern extended the lead to 8-3 in the top of the sixth behind the support of six hits, including a trio of home runs, after Jones retired nine-consecutive Wildcat batters between the third and fifth innings.
The Lions rallied in the bottom of the seventh as Bell powered a shot through the left side to reach first before Jones and Johnson walked to load the bags. Bell scored on Karlie Habitz (Newhall, Calif.) fielder's choice when the Northwestern catcher could not handle a toss from the pitcher. Letourneau and the NU defense tightened and closed the frame to end the contest.
In the bottom of the first, Bell drew a walk and swiped second for her 13th stolen base of the year before Sovereign ripped a two-out double down the left line in the second for her first hit of the day in the following frame. Sovereign led off the sixth with her third hit of the day, tying a career-high for the second time this season after hitting three singles against Michigan March 29 at home.
Bell has now recorded a hit in 32 of 38 games this season and nine of the last 10 outings. Sovereign and Hutchinson's multi-hit efforts are the second and fourth this season, respectively.