Drysdale Field...The Softball Twilight Zone

"You're traveling through another dimension -- a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's a signpost up ahead: your next stop: Games 2 and 3 of the Super Regionals between Northwestern and UMass at Sharon J. Drysdale Field on Saturday

I know this is over the top, but what went on yesterday in Northwestern's dramatic comeback to reach the College World Series was truly SPECTACULAR. Let's go through some of the craziness.

In Game 2, with the game scoreless in the 2nd inning, The 'Cats had runners on First and Second with no outs when Sheila McCorkle hit a soft pop up to the UMass second baseman. Both Ann Schraufnagel and 2nd and Kristen Amegin at first were wondering of their bases and were both forced out before they could tag up. So yes, a TRIPLE PLAY!

In the 4th inning of game 2, NU Pitching Coach Tori Nyberg was EJECTED for arguing balls and strikes. I have covered a lot of softball and I have NEVER seen anyone thrown out of a game. In softball, the pitching coach for the most part calls all the pitches, so this was a big loss.

In the 6th inning with the 'Cats down 2-0, UMass pitcher Brandice Balschmiter walked 4 NU hitters and then hit Garland Cooper with a pitch (5 "free passes"). The 'Cats plated 2 runs WIHOUT RECORDING A HIT! and tied the game at 2 (RBI walks for Jamie Dotson and Kristen Amegin)

With 2 outs in the top of the 7th, NU got back to back hits by Katie Logan and Tammy Williams to put runners on second and third. Cooper was intentially walked and Jamie Dotson hita 2 RBI double to provide the game winning runs...'Cats win 4-2

Lets move to the thrid game, Brandice Balschmiter came into this series with a 0.70 ERA...In the 4th inning with NU already up 3-0, the 'Cats scored 6 RUNS!!! (They had scored only 4 in the previous 2 games). They had 7 hits in the inning. When the carnage subsided, the 'Cats had put up 9 runs on 13 hits against Brandice Balschmitter, beat UMass 9-0 in 5 innings, and ADVANCED TO THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES!

this is a long post, but to recap the weirdness: 1) Triple play 2) pitching coach ejected 3) 2 runs on no hits with 4 walks and HBP 4) 6 runs in the 4th inning against a pitcher with a 0.70 ERA on the season (9 runs on 13 hits in the game)

Ray, did I miss anything?