Softball: Northwestern rallies back to tie Notre Dame

On their last breath, Kansas Robinson saved the day for the Wildcats.

With its back against the wall, Northwestern needed a miracle. The Wildcats trailed 10-6 to Notre Dame in the bottom of the seventh inning with the bases loaded and two outs. Star hitter Kansas Robison was down to her final strike. And yet, she found a fastball right in her wheelhouse and was all over it— launching a game-tying grand slam into deep right field and sending Drysdale Field into a frenzy.

This blast capped a furious comeback for the Wildcats, who clawed back from a 9-2 deficit to earn a 10-10 tie against the Fighting Irish. The game was called after seven innings due to darkness outside, marking only the second tie in Kate Drohan’s 22-year tenure at Northwestern.

The Fighting Irish’s offense couldn’t be stopped in the first three innings as they jumped ahead quickly against the Wildcats’ starter Riley Grudzielanek. In the first inning, she gave up a two-run home run to Kaia Cortes to give Notre Dame a quick 2-0 lead. It cashed in three more runs off Grudzielanek in the second inning as the Fighting Irish loaded the bases and quickly emptied them via an RBI groundout from Emily Tran and two-run RBI double from Addison Amaral.

The ‘Cats’ bats came to life in the bottom of the second as leadoff hitter Grace Nieto brought home Emma Raye on an RBI single.

But a pitching change didn’t help the Wildcats, as Notre Dame tacked on three more runs in the top of the third inning through a homer from Anna Holloway, while Tran capped off a career day with another two-run RBI.

Both teams exchanged runs in their subsequent at bats — with Northwestern scoring its run on a hit by pitch. Midway through four innings, the Fighting Irish held a commanding 9-2 lead.

But as they say, the game isn’t over until the final out. Slowly but surely, the ‘Cats creeped their way back into the game. It started with a two-run RBI single to center field from Robinson in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it a 9-4 game.

However, another shaky inning of pitching from Northwestern brought the Fighting Irish another insurance run via a wild pitch.

But the Wildcats refused to quit. After a solid inning in relief from Emma Blea, the Wildcats got runners first and second with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning with a huge opportunity to cash in. Bridget Donahey hit a sacrifice fly to right with Kelsey Nader taking advantage of an errant throw to score from second. Raye followed it up with an opposite field single to score Robinson to shrink the lead to just 10-6.

Another flawless relief inning for Blea gave the ‘Cats one final shot. They quickly loaded the bases through back-to-back singles and a hit by pitch. After an infield flyout, Robinson stepped to the plate and delivered the most memorable home run of her career, punctuating a thrilling comeback.

Although the pitching was a struggle for Northwestern, Emma Blea deserves recognition for her three clean innings in relief, keeping the Fighting Irish at bay and giving the ‘Cats an opportunity to fight back.

Up next, the Wildcats (18-11, 7-0 B1G) host fellow Big Ten rivals Illinois for a weekend series from Apr. 5-7.