Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Open Play at Pepsi Arizona Classic Friday
2/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 14, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Two weeks ago, the Northwestern softball team played even with defending national runner-up Arizona for four innings, only to see UA pull away in the final three innings for a 6-0 win. Friday night NU gets it chance at revenge as the Wildcats battle the Wildcats to open the Pepsi Arizona Classic in Tucson, Arizona. The teams battle at 5 p.m. Mountain time.
Northwestern will follow its matchup with Arizona with a 7 p.m. showdown against Arkansas. Saturday's action pits the Wildcats versus No. 6 Washington at 11 a.m. and a 1 p.m. meeting with Florida International. The 'Cats wrap up the tournament with an 11 a.m. Sunday game against Big Ten rival Minnesota.
Arizona is 9-0 all-time against the 'Cats. NU leads its series with Florida International 3-0 and Arkansas 1-0. The Wildcats are 1-4 all-time against Washington and 35-36 versus Minnesota.
Last Time Out
The Wildcats posted a 3-2 record at the Louisville Slugger Invitational in
Tampa, Fla. from Jan.31-Feb. 2. Northwestern opened the season with a 6-1
win over Auburn. Lauren Schwendimann pitched a complete game, allowing five
hits and striking out 11. In its next game against host South Florida, NU
scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but fell just short in a 3-2
loss to the Bulls. Brett Nakabayashi went 3-for-4 to lead the 'Cats.
Northwestern bounced back with a 9-1 win over Sam Houston State in five
innings. Brie Brown picked up the victory on the mound and recorded two
hits and three RBI at the plate. Robyn Pettinger hit two home runs and
drove in four as the Wildcats downed Florida Atlantic 5-3. In a battle of
Wildcats to close out the tournament, No. 2 Arizona downed NU 6-0. The game
was scoreless going into the bottom of the fourth, but Arizona scored one
in the fourth, three in the fifth and two in the sixth.
Scouting Arizona
The host and second-ranked Wildcats went 5-1 at the Fiesta Bowl Tournament
last weekend to improved to 10-1. Arizona's only loss came to No. 12 Texas
2-1. Senior Lovie Jung hit five home runs during the tournament. Freshman
pitcher Alicia Hollowell tossed a no-hitter against Wisconsin.
Scouting Arkansas
The Lady Backs went 2-2 at the Triple Crown Tournament in St. Augustine,
Fla. to move to 5-4 overall. Arkansas has played in three games that have
gone into extra innings, winning two of them. Heather Schlichtman has a 3-1
record and has struck out 31 and walked five in 29 innings pitched.
Scouting Washington
The sixth-ranked Huskies posted a perfect 6-0 record in winning the Chevron
Paradise Classic in Honolulu last weekend. UW did not win any of its games
by more than two runs and was forced into extra innings in each of its
first two wins.
Scouting Florida International
The Golden Panthers are off to a 4-7 start to the 2003 season. FIU is 1-4
against ranked opponents. It has dropped one game to No. 16 Ohio State, two
to No. 17 Georgia and has split a pair of games with No. 22 Alabama. FIU
has dropped two of three games to Florida Atlantic whom Northwestern
defeated 5-3 on Feb. 1.
Scouting Minnesota
The Golden Gophers have started the season 6-0. Minnesota won all of its
contests at the Metrodome Classic last weekend, outscoring its opponents
33-1. Piper Marten has allowed only three hits in 17.2 innings pitched,
while striking out 24 and walking three. Angie Recknor has given up nine
hits in 18 innings and has struck out 20.
Head Coach Kate Drohan
Kate Drohan is in her second season as the head coach of the Wildcats. In
her first season at the helm, Drohan led Northwestern to a 24-18-1 record
and a 10-9 mark in the Big Ten. It was NU's fifth consecutive season with
20 or more victories. The team finished tied for fifth in the conference,
and missed out on a berth in the Big Ten Tournament due to a lost
tiebreaker. Prior to becoming head coach, Drohan served as an assistant
under longtime coach Sharon Drysdale for four seasons. Assistant coaches
Alicia Smith and Caryl Drohan, Kate's twin sister, are in their third and
second seasons with NU, respectively.
Off on the Right Foot
Northwestern's 6-1 victory over Auburn in its season opener marked NU's
first 1-0 start to the season since 1993. That year the 'Cats defeated St.
Mary's 13-3. Dating to the 1976 season, NU has posted a 10-19 record in
season openers.
Going, Going...Gone
By hitting two home runs against Florida Atlantic, Robyn Pettinger became
the first Wildcat to accomplish the feat since Erin Jancic did so against
Hawaii on March 22, 2002. Gretchen Barnes hit two home runs in a game twice
last season, March 2 against Belmont and Feb. 16 against Sacramento State.
Bringing the Heat
Opposing batters have worn out a trail from the batter's box back to the
dugout this season. Freshman Courtnay Foster has struck out 14 in the 10
1/3 innings she has pitched. Senior Lauren Schwendimann has been equally as
dominant, fanning 22 in 15 innings of work. Between the two, they have
averaged 1.42 strikouts per inning and 9.95 K's per seven innings.
Double Your Pleasure
For freshman Jamie Dotson, every hit has been twice as nice. All three of
her hits this season have been doubles. The three doubles leads the team
and is half of Northwestern's team total (6).
High School Reunion
Forget the television show on the WB, there will be plenty of opportunities
for high school reunions this weekend. NU freshman Jamie Dotson, sophomore
Erin Mobley and senior Lauren Schwendimann each attended Foothill High in
Tustin, Calif. The trio will have the opportunity to face off against three
of their former teammates this weekend. Arizona freshmen Autumn Champion
and Courtney Fossatti attended Foothill, in addition to Washington senior
Jaime Clark. Also, Northwestern freshman Sheila McCorkle will be reunited
with fellow Mater Dei grad and Santa Ana, Calif. native Tia Bollinger, who
is a junior at Washington. It will also be a homecoming for NU freshman
Courtnay Foster, a Tucson native and Sahuaro High graduate.
Tough Road Ahead
The Wildcats face a stiff schedule in 2003. Northwestern will encounter at
least 12 different opponents and 20 total games against teams that are
ranked in the top 25 or are receiving votes in the NFCA/USA Today Preseason
Coaches Poll. Included on the schedule are four of the top six ranked teams
in the poll. NU will take on defending national champion California once,
national runner-up Arizona and Michigan twice and Washington three times.
Returning Honorees
Northwestern returns a number of players who have received either
conference or national honors in past seasons. Carri Leto was a second-team
All-Big Ten selection in 2002 and second-team NCFA. All-Mideast Region in
2001. Lauren Schwendimann received second-team NFCA All-Region honors last
season and in 2000. She also picked up second-team Verizon/CoSIDA Academic
All-District accolades a year ago. Schwendimann and Alyson Schulz earned
second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2000.
Team Captains
Seniors Lauren Schwendimann and Jessie Wellnitz and junior Carri Leto are
the team captains for the 2003 season. Schwendimann, a pitcher, earned
second-team NFCA All-Region honors in 2002 as a utility player. Wellnitz
appeared in 37 games in the outfield last season without commiting an
error. Leto earned second-team All-Big Ten honors at shortstop for the
Wildcats last season.
Next Time Out
Northwestern makes the trek to Fullerton, Calif. from Feb. 28-March 2 to
compete in the Worth Invitaional hosted by Cal State Fullerton. In addition
to the host Titans, NU will take on Oregon State, Washington, Portland
State and California.
