Just three weeks ago, the idea that Northwestern softball would be in a position to take down a Top 10 team in the NCAA Tournament was not on anyone’s radar. But the Wildcats forced their way into the NCAA Tournament with a late-season push, winning eight of their last nine regular season games, including their final six in a row.
This weekend, they traveled to Austin to compete in the tournament’s first regional and came within a single victory of continuing their remarkable run. Regional tournaments are in a double elimination format, meaning that teams need to lose two games before being eliminated.
Game 1 vs. Texas
On paper, their first game with No. 6 Texas was a total mismatch. Using March Madness basketball as a comparison, Northwestern was the equivalent of a No. 15 seed facing a No. 2 seed in the Longhorns.
Wildcat shortstop Emily Allard led off with a single and then stole second base with two outs. Third baseman Marisa Bast’s single to center then drove Allard in to put the Wildcats up 1-0 after the first inning.
“That was key to get comfortable on the field,” head coach Kate Drohan said of getting the first run of the game. “I thought that set the tempo for the game.”
Texas pitcher Blaire Luna, who ranked second in the Big 12 in strikeouts per game, settled in after that, striking out seven batters over the next three innings. Northwestern struck out a remarkable 14 times over the course of the game, but came up with just enough runs to earn the win.
In the top of the fifth, centerfielder Kristen Scharkey and Allard led off with back-to-back singles off of Luna. Leftfielder Mari Majam promptly continued the trend, bringing Scharkey home with a single of her own and giving Northwestern a 2-0 lead. The Wildcats would not get another hit for the rest of the day.
Wildcat pitcher Amy Letourneau then performed a pair of Houdini acts in the bottom of the fifth and seventh to escape in the shocking victory.
In the fifth, she walked the first two Longhorn batters and with two outs, walked a third player to load the bases and put the lead in jeopardy. But Letourneau then dug deep and forced shortstop Taylor Thom to ground out, eluding disaster.
In the seventh and final inning, Letourneau forced a double play but then allowed a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases once again. With the tying run in scoring position, Northwestern’s shot at a massive upset was seriously in doubt. But for the second time, Letourneau faced Taylor Thom, who flied out to right field on the second pitch of the at bat, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 win.
Letourneau allowed nine walks but managed a shutout victory over Luna and heavily favored Texas, moving them to the winner’s bracket of the regional.
Game 2 vs. Houston
Friday’s upset over the Longhorns was a pitcher’s duel. If you want to paint a mental picture of Saturday’s contest against Houston, imagine the complete opposite of that.
The Wildcats went down 3-0 in the first inning but easily wiped that deficit away with a seven-run second inning. Houston answered right back in the bottom half of the inning, scoring another two runs and chasing pitcher Meghan Lamberth from the game for the previous day’s winner, Amy Letourneau.
Northwestern’s offense then brought in another three runs in the third and added one more in the fourth to extend the lead to 11-5.
Letourneau, perhaps tired from her complete game from the day before, was far from perfect but got the job done. In 5 2/3 innings, she allowed seven walks and hit four batters but only allowed three hits. Houston narrowed the lead to three during the sixth inning, but Northwestern tacked on two more in the seventh and ended up earning the 13-9 win.
Northwestern tied its school-single game record with 17 base hits in the victory, which put them into a rematch with Texas the following day.
Final Series vs. Texas
Texas bounced back on Saturday with victories over Auburn and Houston by a combined score of 16-2 to earn the right to avenge their Friday loss. Letourneau and Luna again faced off on the circle, but this time, it was Luna that got the upper hand.
After striking out 14 Wildcats on Friday, Luna one-upped herself on Sunday, whiffing 15 Northwestern hitters in seven innings of work. She also only allowed two hits in a truly masterful effort.
A solo home run with two outs in the top of the third gave Texas (playing the role of the visiting team) the lead, which was never relinquished. Letourneau committed a throwing error to first in the fourth inning, allowing one run. After Texas scored another, Letourneau threw a wild pitch, which scored another run and gave Texas a 4-0 lead. After tacking on another run in the seventh, Texas won 5-0 and forced an elimination game against Northwestern in the afternoon.
In the rubber match between the two squads, the result mirrored the one from earlier in the day.
Luna took the circle once again and was nearly as unhittable. She threw another complete game shutout, allowing only six hits and striking out another 14 Wildcats. Luna’s masterful pitching effort proved too much for Northwestern.
Texas third baseman Nadia Taylor hit a two-run home run off of Meghan Lamberth in the bottom of first. The Longhorns held that two-run advantage until the bottom of the sixth, when they scored three runs off of Letourneau to put the game out of reach. They won 5-0 for the second time that day, ending Northwestern’s Cinderella run at the national championship.