University of Louisville
Northern Illinois
Softball Takes Down Northern Illinois 6-1
February 11, 2011 | Softball
Feb. 11, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas - - Sophomore Jennifer Esteban went 3-for-3 to lead the University of Louisville softball team to a 6-1 win over Northern Illinois Friday in the Texas Classic. The Cards improve to 1-1 while the Huskies fall to 0-2 on the season.
"It was a great day at the ball field," said U of L head coach Sandy Pearsall. "We had a great opportunity for our players to get experience. I thought we made some great plays and our offense was more prolific today."
The Cards took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Esteban singled and moved around to score on three more illegal pitches to put Louisville on the scoreboard.
Louisville used three hits and Katie Keller's sacrifice fly to push two more runs across in the second. Taner Fowler and Colby Wherry registered back-to-back hits to start the inning and advanced on Kristin Austin's ground out. Fowler crossed the plate on Keller's sacrifice fly. Esteban's RBI single plated Wherry to make it a 3-0 game.
The Cards tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-0 lead. Austin got things started when she reached on an error and stole second. Esteban's third hit of the day placed runners on the corners. Maggie Ruckenbrod's RBI single sent Austin home. Esteban scored on an illegal pitch. Wolny delivered an RBI single to plate Ruckenbrod.
Northern Illinois got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the fifth. Dani Parrish singled, stole second and scored on a hit by Adriana Sanchez to make the score 6-1.
Northern Illinois had a chance to score in the opening inning when a single, a walk and a catcher's interference loaded the bases with two outs, but freshman pitcher Caralisa Connell delivered a strikeout to get out of the jam.
Connell (1-0) got the win, holding the Huskies scoreless and scattering three hits while striking out four in four innings. Esteban finished the game batting 3-for-3 with two runs, one RBI and a stolen base. Wolny went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Whitney Owens (0-1) took the loss, giving up six runs, four earned, on seven hits and striking out two. Parish led the Huskies at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run.
The Cards will face Tulsa at noon (Eastern) Saturday.
