Welcome back to Sharon J. Drysdale Field for the Evanston Regional of the NCAA Tournament. It occurs to me while I explained to people that Northwestern had not advanced to the second round with its 6-0 win over Western Illinois yesterday that most people do not know how this tournament works.
So here is my best explanation:
The 64-team field is split into 16 regions of four teams each. The four teams within each region play a double-elimination tournament. So today's matchup between No. 11 Northwestern and No. 19 DePaul is not a "win or go home." But it certainly helps to get the "W" in today's first game because it means you do not have to play the rest of the day.
The history between the Wildcats and the Blue Demons is pretty deep. DePaul defeated NU in the 2005 super regional round with a two-game sweep. Both teams reached the Women's College World Series last year.
The Blue Demons took a 5-3 decision in five innings back on April 29. The game was shortened due to darkness. Neither starting pitchers from today started that game. The aces are in the circle for today's game.
DePaul will provide a good challenge and we should be in store for a good game. Becca Heteniak has been as dominant as NU ace Lauren Delaney. She is 32-6 with a 1.19 ERA. She is not a strikeout pitcher like Delaney, but runs do not come easy off her.
The bats for the Blue Demons can come alive too. Amber Patton is batting .401 in the leadoff position and Sandy Vojik is batting .320 with 10 home runs. They do not have the power of the Cats, but they proved a couple weeks ago that they can hang with this team.
If NU does not commit errors defensively -- like they did in the first meeting -- it should find itself through to the regional championship tomorrow.
A pretty split crowd today. The Blue Demon mascot even is making an appearance. All NU has is women's basketball player Amy Jaeschke selling t-shirts at the concession stand.
It is the start of a pretty big day for NU athletics with women's tennis and lacrosse playing NCAA Tournament games too.
First Inning: The Purple Express series gets off to the start you expect when you have two pitchers with ERAs below 2.00. Both pitchers send their opponents down in order. Buckle in, it is going to be a bumpy ride.
Second Inning: Jackie Tarulli-Fisher gets the first hit of the game, but do not think the Cats gave up the hit so easily. Tarulli-Fisher poked one past Nicole Pauly at second base, but Kelly Quinn came charging from right field and nearly got the ball back into the infield for the force out.
NU exacted some revenge as Erin Dyer threw out pinch runner Tara Voss at second pretty easily on the attempted steal. In a game like this, every runner is going to matter. The Cats are still hitless entering the bottom of their lineup.
Third Inning: The back of the order has been coming up big for NU in the postseason. The team has gotten big hit after big hit from the back of the order to set up the big bats at the top. It lead to blowout victories in the first two rounds of the Big Ten tournament.
They started doing it again in the third. Kelly Quinn laid down a perfect slap past the shortstop into center field and then Robin Thompson laid down a bunt which seemed to repel all DePaul players as it settled in the middle of an empty right side of the infield.
But now Tammy Williams has to hold up her end of the deal. She entered the postseason with a batting average around .480, which led the nation. She entered the game with a .457 average and is uncharacteristically struggling this postseason. With runners at second and third, Williams flew out to the shortstop and the Blue Demons survived the first big threat to score.
DePaul took NU's failed chances at scoring in the top of the inning and turned them into runs in the bottom during the first meeting. This time, Lauren Delaney closed the door. Two strikeouts and a ground out to short keeps the game scoreless.
Fourth Inning: Perhaps momentum has shifted to NU. Michelle Batts leads off the inning with a sharp hit to center field. The freshman who plays first base is not the most nimble of players, she usually gets a pinch runner after her singles. But Batts showed off her speed, chugging across the base path for a stand-up double. That kind of hustle should really fire up the team.
They call her "Little Guy" but she has come up with plenty of big hits for the Cats in her three-year career. Add another big hit to the lore of Erin Dyer.
Dyer grounds a ball down the third base line, bringing in Aly Euler (pinch-running for Batts) for the first run of the game. The Dyer sisters have been the most consistent hitters for NU this postseason. The Cats only get one on the board as the defense takes the field.
Errors hurt NU in the first game against DePaul. Not so much this time. Kelly Quinn shows off her range in right field and gets a well-hit ball by Sandy Vojik for the second out. It is the best contact the team has had against Lauren Delaney all game. The one-run lead holds entering the fifth.
Fifth Inning: The Cats' offense is usually associated with power. They showed it off yesterday with three solo shots and they were second in the Big Ten in longballs and in the top 10 in home runs per game in the nation. But small ball is winning this game.
Speedy freshman Robin Thompson led off the inning with a single, she stole a base and advanced to a third on a sacrifice bunt. Jordan Wheeler's slap hit through the middle of the infield scored one. Nothing like a manufactured run straight off the assembly line.
Williams snapped her little slump with a big hit to the center field wall. She stretched it out to a triple, but was tagged out at home after a bad throw to third. The rally has clearly rattled Hetteniak. Batts walked and Nicole Pauly was hit, giving NU a second chance to threaten with two outs and a three-run lead.
And "Big Hit Dyer" (I am taking requests for nicknames) hits one down the left field line and it sneaks inside the foul pole for a three-run home run. Cats have given Delaney a lot of cushion with a five-run inning.
Heteniak got one hit back at least. Her pop up gets lost in the sun and Pauly cannot handle it for the out. The sophomore trades her visor for some sun glasses. Hopefully she remembered some sun screen too... a public service announcement brought to you by the Daily Northwestern.
Cats remain ahead six runs with a new pitcher coming in for the Blue Demons.
Sixth Inning: Cats quiet in that inning facing a new pitcher. But with a six-run lead and Delaney cruising, it may not matter.
DePaul probably lost its best chance to get a run on the board. The top of the team's order goes down 1-2-3 with two strikeouts. This matchup has slowly become a snoozer as Delaney's dominant pitching has quieted the Blue Demons.
Seventh Inning: Delaney makes quick work of the Blue Demons and the Cats advance to the Regional championship game tomorrow with a 6-0 victory.
Erin Dyer went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, including a three-run blast to cap off a five-run fifth inning. The run started thanks to the small ball play at the beginning of the inning from the bottom of the lineup.
DePaul pitcher Becca Heteniak said it best, "Good hitters hit everything." And NU has a lot of good hitters to put pressure on its opponents.
"One through nine our lineup is stacked," Dyer said. "When you know your seven, eight (and) nine batter are getting on base and scoring runs, it makes it that much easier and puts that much more pressure on the other team."
Delaney said getting the runs helped her feel more comfortable in the game. She did not need much as only one runner got to second base the entire game. She scattered three hits and struck out 11 batters. The Big Ten Pitcher of the Year has not given up a run in 35 innings. She has allowed only one run in the past six games.
DePaul coach Eugene Lenti noted how Delaney's changeup has really made her a more dynamic pitcher. She now matches her fastball and rise-ball with some off-speed pitches.
The Cats will return to action in the regional championship game Sunday at noon. They will only have to win one game to advance to their fourth straight super regional and will face whichever team survives the rest of Saturday's games.
"It's about taking advantage of the rest we have and not going to bed happy tonight," coach Kate Drohan said.
Enjoy Sports Editor Jake Simpson's live blog of lacrosse's quarterfinal battle with Princeton.
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