Northwestern’s Emma Freeman didn’t look comfortable in the pitcher’s circle in the top of the first inning against rival Northern Lehigh.

That may have had a lot to do with the 40-degree weather that felt colder thanks to a stiff, swirling wind and some light rain.

But Freeman adjusted to the weather - and her Tiger teammates gave her plenty of support.

That combination resulted in a 17-2 Northwestern mercy-rule victory on Wednesday.

Northern Lehigh (1-1 overall, 0-1 Colonial) picked up two first-inning runs. Tegan Simms hit a fly ball to right that the wind carried away from Ella Bressi for a one-out triple. Freeman fell behind Kaylee Snyder and ended up walking her ahead of Snyder stealing second to put runners on second and third with one out. Kaitlyn Stock came to the plate and rolled a perfectly placed single through the middle to score two runs.

“It was definitely tough, but I think it helped that I pitched at practice on Monday, and it was this cold and windy, so it helped me to deal with the cold weather,” said Freeman. “My defense really backed me up behind me, and they were there when the ball came to them.”

One of the defensive plays that Freeman was talking about came later in the opening inning when the Tigers’ turned a nifty double play as shortstop

Izzy Akelaitis fielded a grounder and threw out the batter at first base. After taking the throw, first baseman Shelby Mitman fired a perfect throw to catcher Abby Dunstan to nail the Bulldogs’ Stock at the plate and keep the score 2-0.

“That was a fantastic throw by her (Mitman), and I could not have asked for a better throw,” said Dunstan. “I wouldn’t have been able to make that tag without her making that throw, and I give all the credit to her for that play.”

Bulldogs starter Emma Smith also didn’t look comfortable in the first inning. With Tiger runners on first and second and one out, she threw a low pitch to Dunstan that she went down and connected with to launch the ball out to right field and put Northwestern up 3-2.

Dunstan’s home run was part of a huge Northwestern opening frame that saw 11 straight batters reach base - nine of them on hits. Emily Diehl, Bressi and Akelaitis each delivered RBI singles, Sage Toman drew a bases-loaded walk and two more runs scored on wild pitches. Northwestern (2-0, 1-0) sent 15 batters to the plate, and scored nine runs in the inning.

Lily Watt came on in relief of Smith after the walk to Toman and before she could finish her warm-up tosses, the umpires sent everyone off the field as the rain had picked up in intensity. Play resumed just a few minutes later and the Tigers went right back to work and finished the inning.

In the circle, Freeman settled in and retired the final six batters she faced in innings two and three.

For Northern Lehigh, Watt lasted two innings before exiting with one out in the third. Watt had allowed two runs in the second inning, and then gave up an RBI triple to Mitman and an RBI fielder’s choice to Diehl in the third.

Abby Smith came on in relief with runners on first and third and Northwestern up 14-2 with one out in the bottom of the third. Rylee McGinley worked a walk to load the bases, and Toman drove in a run on a fielder’s choice before two more runs would score on a double to left by Akelaitis. Elizabeth Diehl worked a bases-loaded walk to impose the 15-run rule and end the game.

Dunstan and Akelaitis both finished with three RBIs for the Tigers, while Mitman and Emily Diehl each scored three runs.

“We have really been working on our offense because we are confident in our defense, and we have confidence in anyone that we put in the circle,” said Northwestern coach Kate Farber. “So we have really been working on our hitting, and I think it paid off today.”

NEW VIEW … Farber was used to being in the first-base side dugout during her seven years as the head coach of the Bulldogs. After Josh Zimmerman stepped down as the Tigers coach, Farber applied for the job even though she had a successful run at Northern Lehigh and is an alumni of the school. But Farber said with her children in the Northwestern Lehigh School District, and so much of her time being spent in the area being involved with her kids sports teams, the move made sense from a family perspective.

Northern Lehigh 200 – 2 2 0

Northwestern 926 - 17 15 1

E. Smith, Watt (1), A. Smith (3) and Stock; Freeman and Dunstan. W - Freeman. L - E. Smith. HR - Northwestern: Dunstan (1st, two on).