University of Louisville
NORTHWESTERN
Softball Upsets No. 7/8 Northwestern 5-4
March 23, 2007 | Softball
March 23, 2007
LOUISVILLE, KY. - - The University of Louisville softball team defeated No. 7/8 Northwestern 5-4 Friday in the second game of the Women 4 Women Softball Tournament.
"We came out aggressively, made some great defensive plays and we didn't hurt ourselves with mistakes," said head coach Sandy Pearsall. "This is the way we need to continue to play the rest of the season."
The Cardinals broke a scoreless in the bottom of the third when Audrey Rendon singled and scored when Melissa Roth reached on a Northwestern error.
Northwestern answered in the top of the fourth when Nicole Pauley delivered a leadoff hit, moved to second on a Cardinal error and scored on Jessica Rigas' double to knot the game at 1-1.
Louisville pulled ahead 2-1 in the fourth. McCrain drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on Sarah Totten's single. Totten advanced to second on the throw and Kristen Wadwell loaded the bases on a dropped third strike to load the bases. McCrain crossed the plate when Brittany York was hit by a pitch.
The Wildcats put up two runs in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead. Katie Logan singled, moved to third on Tammy Williams' double and scored on a sacrifice play off the bat of Garland Cooper. Williams was safe on a play at the plate when Pauley reached on a fielder's choice.
The Cards got the run back in the fifth when Roth powered a leadoff home run over right center field to tie the game at 3-3.
Louisville went ahead for good in the bottom of the sixth. Kassie Stanfill doubled to start the inning. Candi Hicks' bunt single placed runners on the corners. Hicks took second on Rendon's groundout. Both runners scored when Roth reached on an error to make the score 5-3.
Northwestern pulled within a run in the seventh when Cooper singled and scored on Dyer's two-out double for the 5-4 final.
Stanfill (7-3) picked up the win, allowing one earned run on two hits in .2 innings of relief. The Cards had seven hits in the game. Louisville's last win over a top ten opponent was Feb. 5, 2005, when they defeated fourth-ranked Oklahoma 2-1.
Reliever Eileen Canney (10-6) took the loss, giving up two unearned runs on three hits in 2.0 innings. The Wildcats had nine hits in the game and were led by Katie Logan's 3 for 4 performance at the plate. Rigan finished 2 for 2 with an RBI.
U of L (15-12) will play No. 25 California Saturday a 1 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium.
