Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
No. 25 Northwestern
Softball Suffers 4-2 Loss At No. 25 Northwestern
4/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 19, 2014
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Sharon J. Drysdale Field)
Score: Northwestern 4, Indiana 2
Records: Indiana 13-32-1 (4-12 B1G), Northwestern 26-11 (8-6 B1G)
Next IU Event: Sunday, April 18 at Northwestern (Sharon J. Drysdale Field) 1 p.m. ET
EVANSTON, Ill. – The Hoosiers made some noise late in their contest with No. 25 Northwestern, but the Indiana softball team would eventually fall 4-2 in game two of the three-game Big Ten series to drop to 13-32-1 on the year and 4-12 in conference contests.
Indiana tallied four hits in the contest with singles from Natalie Lalich, CaraMia Tsirigos, Kassi Farmer and Michelle Huber. Shelby Gogreve earned Indiana’s lone RBI after drawing a bases loaded walk in the sixth, while Alyssa Rosati and Farmer scored a run for the Hoosiers. Brianna Meyer’s two walks put her on base for the 16th-consecutive contest, the longest stretch by an IU player since Shannon Cawley reached base in 17-straight games during the 2012 season.
Meaghan Murphy made her 17th start of the year and went 2.2 innings in the loss, falling to 5-13 this season. She allowed four runs on six hits and struck out three. Brooke Boetjer provided a solid effort in relief, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings where she struck out four and held NU to just two hits.
Indiana took advantage of a shaky start in the circle by Northwestern’s Nicole Bond. Brianna Meyer opened the game with a leadoff walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Abraham was called out on strikes, but the final strike of the at bat was also in the dirt, allowing Abraham to reach first. With runners on the corners, a passed ball moved Abraham to second, putting the Hoosiers in prime position to jump on the board first. Bond settled back in the circle however, and managed to strike out the next three batters and escape the inning unscathed.
Northwestern’s Emily Allard led off the first with a single and looked to earn her 25th stolen base of the season. Kelsey Dotson would have other plans, making a perfect throw to second to catch Allard stealing for the just the second time this year. The two-hitter followed with a hard-hit line drive in the direction of Shelby Gogreve, but the senior laid out and make a spectacular grab that robbed Mari Majam of a base hit. That solid defense helped minimize the damage later in the inning, as Northwestern’s Marisa Bast hit a homerun in the next at bat NU a 1-0 lead.
Murphy struck out the side in the second inning to hold the Wildcats’ lead to one, but Northwestern would plate a two on a three consecutive two-out doubles in the third to take a 4-0 lead over Indiana to prompt a change in the circle. Brooke Boetjer entered the game and coaxed a fly ball out to end the inning.
The Hoosiers put together some offense in the sixth to plate its first runs of the ballgame. Lalich started the rally with a single and moved to second on Tsirigos’ base hit into left. A two-out infield single from Huber loaded the bases, allowing a walk for Gogreve to bring in Indiana’s first run of the day. A wild pitch by Northwestern’s Bond pushed another IU run across to cut the Wildcats’ lead to two.
Indiana entered the top of the seventh trailing 4-2 with the top of the order due up at the plate. The Hoosiers eventually sent the tying run to the plate when Abraham reached base on a two-out fielding error by Northwestern’s Anna Edwards, but a ground ball out ended the contest, 4-2.
Indiana closes out the three-game series tomorrow, Sunday, April 20 with a 1 p.m. ET first pitch.
