Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Ready for a Warm Spring Break
3/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 17, 2004
Spring Break Game Notes
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern is set to begin its Spring Break trip with a return engagement at the Hawaii Invitational March 19-21 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The trip will conclude with a three-game slate March 24-26 in Fullerton, Calif.
The Wildcats head back to Oahu for the first time since 2002, when they played to a 3-4 record in the Chevron Hawaii Invitational. This year the 'Cats will take on Utah, Hawaii, No. 3 California and No. 24 Texas along with a pair of exhibition games against Japanese squads Nittaidai and Tokyo.
The ''Cats Gone Wild' tour continues in Fullerton, Calif., with a double-dip against Cal State Fullerton and concludes with a matchup versus No. 9 Washington. After this trip, Northwestern will have played eight of the teams ranked in the latest USA Today/NFCA poll (a game with No. 13 Pacific was stopped in the third inning due to inclement weather).
Junior Erin Mobley (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) continues to be NU's top hitter with a .438 batting average. Freshman Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita) has made a huge impact during her rookie season, currently leading the team in RBI (11), homeruns (3), slugging percentage (.700) and doubles (5).
Sophomore pitcher Courtnay Foster (Tuscon, Ariz./Sahuaro) has picked up right where she left off last year when she was a second-team All-Big Ten selection. Foster has a 1.08 ERA and is averaging 8.3 strikeouts per appearance. Three of her six wins have been shutouts.
Northwestern hopes to continue the success it had the last time out at the Speedline Tournament in Clearwater, Fla., where it went 6-1 and improved its overall record to 12-4, earning a No. 25 ranking in the March 7 edition of the USA Today/NFCA poll. After being idle during finals week, the 'Cats dropped to 26th in the most recent rankings.
