Creighton University
#11/11 Washington
Softball Falls 5-1 to No. 11 Washington in NCAA Opener
5/19/2007 3:00:00 AM | Softball
LINCOLN, Neb. -- National Player of the Year candidate Danielle Lawrie struck out 11 while throwing a four-hitter to lead 11th-ranked Washington past Creighton, 5-1, in the first game of the NCAA Softball Regional at the University of Nebraska's Bowlin Stadium Friday afternoon.
With the win, the sixth-seeded Huskies (36-16) advance to tomorrow's 1 p.m., winner's bracket game against Georgia, a 3-2 winner over host Nebraska Friday night. Creighton (39-13-1) will play Nebraska in an elimination contest Saturday at 4 p.m.
Lawrie, a member of the Canadian National Team, now owns 384 strikeouts on the season, just three shy of the school-record total of 387 she had last year. She has recorded double-figure strikeouts in 23 of 30 starts this season, and her career 11.5 strikeouts per seven innings average ranks fourth in NCAA history. The sophomore struck out at least one batter in every inning except the sixth.
Lawrie retired CU's first seven batters (five by strikeout) before Jess Stigge coaxed a full-count walk with one out in the third. CU's first hit came on an infield single by Bailey Dawson in the fourth inning.
UW's Marnie Koziol singled with one out in the bottom of the first and then stole second. She would score when Dominique Lastrapes' line drive up the middle deflected off CU pitcher Tara Oltman's glove. Koziol was waved around third and scored on a close play after Oltman scrambled to recover to pick up the ball near the shortstop position. The run was the first earned run allowed by Oltman in the first inning this year in 29 starts.
The Huskies put up a crooked number in the second, scoring twice to take a 3-0 lead. With runners at second and third with one out, Koziol ripped a single up the middle to score a pair. Oltman then worked out of the jam by striking out Lastrapes and Dena Tyson.
Washington also scored twice in the fifth inning. Lawrie plated Dena Tyson on a sacrifice fly, and Lauren Greer later scored on an infield single by Alicia Matthews to make the score 5-0 in favor of the Huskies.
Creighton's lone run came in the seventh. Caitlin Marcano walked and pinch-runner Kaycee Points advanced to second on a single through the left side by Jessica German. One fielder's choice out later, pinch-hitter Laura Kratochvil walked to load the bases. German would score CU's only run of the day on an RBI ground-out by Michelle Koch. Lawrie ended the day by getting Reiss to strike out.
Lawrie improved to 25-10 with the victory, throwing her 25th complete game. Koziol led UW with two hits and also had a team-best two RBI.
A Lincoln native, Dawson led Creighton with a 2-for-3 showing at the plate. Dawson is now hitting 5-for-9 (.556) in her career at Bowlin Stadium. Oltman, the MVC Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year, allowed five runs on eight singles. She walked three and struck out four in a complete-game effort. She fell to 25-8 on the year.
NOTES: Jess Stigge made her first career start in right field, playing in place of injured Lau Emmsley-Chang (knee), she'd previoulsy made four starts in left field and four at first base ... Creighton, which hadn't allowed more than two stolen bases in any game all season, allowed three swipes to Washington in the first two innings ... Jessica Wakasugi's throwing error in the second inning was her first miscue of the season in 53 chances ... Before today, the only other run allowed by Tara Oltman in the first inning was April 12 against Nebraska, but that was an unearned tally ... Kate Petullo notched her team-high ninth stolen base of the season in the top of the fifth ... The five earned runs allowed by Tara Oltman was a season-high ... CU also lost 5-1 to Washington to open the 2003 NCAA Tournament, but bounced back with a win over Florida International in its second game.
