Northwestern University Athletics
It All Comes Down To This
5/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 2, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
EVANSTON, Ill. - Fifty-two weeks later, the Northwestern softball team finds itself in a similar position that it was in one year ago. With one weekend of play remaining in the Big Ten season, the Wildcats find themselves battling for the final berth in the conference tournament. After falling short last year, NU hopes to reverse its fortune as in-state rival Illinois comes to town this weekend.
The Wildcats (30-15, 9-9 Big Ten) and Fighting Illini (37-11-1, 11-5 Big Ten) open their series at 1 p.m. Saturday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. The teams conclude two-game set at noon Sunday. The Fighting Illini lead the short-lived series 3-1. Each team won one game a year ago in Urbana. The Wildcats won the first game 2-0 before Illinois took the second game 5-4.
Last Time Out
The Wildcats stayed in the hunt for a Big Ten Tournament berth with a pair of victories at Big Ten leader Iowa last weekend. Northwestern rode the strong arm of freshman Courtnay Foster to the two victories. In a 3-0 win Friday, Foster struck out 12 in tossing a two-hitter. Lauren Schwendimann led the 'Cats with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate. Foster followed up the strong performance by tossing another shutout, as NU posted a 2-0 win. Erin Mobley smacked her fourth home run of the season in the first inning-a two-run shot-and Foster made the early lead hold up. She struck out 11 in allowing just three hits against the Big Ten's second-ranked offensive team. The Wildcats opened the week with a doubleheader sweep at Loyola-Chicago Wednesday. The Wildcats won the opening game 1-0 behind Robyn Pettinger's solo home run in the top of the seventh. Foster was dominant, tossing a one-hitter and striking out 18 batters, including the first 10 she faced. Pettinger had three hits and Carri Leto added two. Brie Brown followed up Foster's effort by tossing a three-hitter in a 3-1 win in the nightcap. Cindy Muran hit a three-run home run for the 'Cats. Muran and Jamie Dotson had two hits apiece for Northwestern.
Scouting Illinois
Illinois dropped out of contention for the Big Ten title last weekend, falling twice at Iowa. The Illini had won 15 in a row prior to their doubleheader with DePaul April 24, but have not won in their last four games. The Illini managed just nine hits in the two games, losing 8-0 and 7-0. Rachelle Coriddi leads the team with a .355 batting average out of the leadoff spot. Outfielder Erin Montgomery has cracked nine home runs and knocked in 32 runs, both tops among Illini hitters. Junior Amanda Fortune has logged 176 innings in the pitcher's circle, and enters the week with a 23-7 record and a 1.63 ERA. She has struck out 112 and walked just 21 in 38 appearances.
'Cat Nips
* By scoring a run in NU's game at Iowa Saturday, Brett Nakabayashi has now scored 105 in her career. She currently ranks in a tie for second place along with Katie Ballman ('94-'97). Erin Jancic ('99-'02) is the all-time leader with 115 runs scored.
* The 'Cats have achieved their first 30-win season since 2000, when they went 30-26. The Wildcats' winning percentage of .667 entering play this weekend is the school's highest since 1995. That year the club went 38-19 with an identical .667 winning percentage.
* Senior Cindy Muran leads the team with 28 RBI this season. The total ranks in a tie for sixth place with five others on the school's single-season list. Brooke Siebel holds the record of 39 set in 1999.
* Courtnay Foster needs just one strikeout to move into a tie for third place on the school's single-season strikeout list. Lisa Ishikawa struck out 230 batters in 1986. Ishikawa also holds the top two spots in NU history, including a record 469 K's in 1984.
* Nakabayashi's .301 career batting average ranks along with Anne Carpenter as a tie for seventh place in school history.
Foster Named National Player of the Week
Freshman pitcher Courtnay Foster was basically unhittable last week, tossing three shutouts on her way to earning USA Softball and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week honors. She was also named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week. Foster opened the week with a remarkable 18-strikeout performance at Loyola-Chicago Wednesday. In the 1-0 win, she allowed just one hit and struck out the first 10 batters she faced. The 18 strikeouts were the most by a Northwestern pitcher in a game since Lisa Ishikawa struck out 18 DePaul batters on May 5, 1987. Foster followed up the effort with a pair of equally impressive performances at Big Ten leader Iowa. In a 3-0 win Friday, she limited the Big Ten's second-ranked offense to just two hits while striking out 12. The next day, Foster took the mound again and fired her third shutout of the week, allowing three hits and fanning 11 in the 2-0 victory. Foster has not allowed an earned run over her last 31.2 innings pitched and has yielded just 10 hits over that span. Her average of 9.68 strikeouts per seven innings ranks in the top 12 nationally, and would be the second-best single-season mark in NU history.
Race to the Finish
For the second consecutive season, Northwestern's hopes of earning a berth in the Big Ten Tournament come down to the final weekend of the conference season. The Wildcats are currently tied with Penn State for sixth place in the Big Ten. The top six teams reach the conference tournament. The two teams split their two-game series in Evanston on April 6. The Nittany Lions hold the deciding tiebreaker of record against teams above them in the conference standings. Penn State is 5-5 against teams above them, while the 'Cats are 2-6. PSU controls its own fate, and can clinch a berth with a two-game sweep at Ohio State this weekend, two Northwestern losses to Illinois or one win and one Wildcat loss. The Wildcats' magic number is three. NU needs to sweep Illinois and have Penn State lose at least once, or win once and have the Nittany Lions lose twice.
So Long to Seniors
The Wildcats will bid farewell to seven seniors Sunday who will be playing in the final home game of their careers. Brett Nakabayashi, Robyn Pettinger, Alyson Schulz, Lauren Schwendimann, Cindy Muran, Brie Brown and Jessie Wellnitz have each been a part of the Northwestern softball program for four seasons. Entering play Wednesday, the seven have compiled a career record of 104-84. The group reached the NCAA Tournament during their freshman season.
'Cats Earn Recognition in National Polls
Northwestern has been ranked as high as 22nd in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll this season. This season represents NU's first top 25 appearance in a national poll since 1995. NU has also received votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll, reaching a ranking as high as 27th. The Wildcats are receiving votes in both polls this week, ranking 30th in each.
Power Surge
The Wildcats didn't exactly start out the season as a power-hitting team. Through its first 19 games-all during the tournament season-Northwestern hit just five home runs. However, the 'Cats' bats have come alive recently. Since completing the tournament season, NU has hit 15 home runs in its last 26 games. The Wildcats have homered in three of their last four games and have 20 total longballs this season, the fourth-highest total in school history. The school record of 27 was set by the 2002 squad. Northwestern is 14-2 in games in which it homers this season.
NCAA Regional Sites Announced
Eight regional sites have been selected for the 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Softball Championship and were announced Monday by the NCAA Division I Softball Committee. Each regional field will feature eight teams, playing a double-elimination format. All regional games are scheduled to be conducted May 15-18. The at-large teams, top-eight national seeds and first-round pairings will be announced Sunday, May 11 at 9 p.m. Central time live on ESPNEWS. Twenty-six Division I conferences receive an automatic berth in the field of 64, along with 38 at-large selections.
Site Host
Tuscaloosa, Alabama; University of Alabama
Tucson, Arizona; University of Arizona
Fullerton, California; California State University, Fullerton
Gainesville, Florida; University of Florida
Fresno, California; California State University, Fresno
Ann Arbor, Michigan; University of Michigan
Lincoln, Nebraska; University of Nebraska
Austin, Texas; University of Texas
Next Time Out
Should the Wildcats qualify for the Big Ten Tournament, play will open Thursday, May 8 with the regular season champion serving as the host. The NCAA Tournament field will be announced Sunday, May 11 with regional competition beginning Thursday, May 15 at eight regional sites.
