Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Head to Clearwater, Fla. for Speedline Tournament
3/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 2, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern heads to Clearwater, Fla. for the Speedline Tournament this weekend, hoping to improve on its 6-3 overall record. This will be Northwestern's first tournament of the year that features a true "tournament" format. The 'Cats face Coastal Carolina, Temple, Rutgers, No. 17 Oregon and Jacksonville in the pool play round. The outcome of the pool play will determine whether NU will move onto Sunday's single-elimination round. For the third consecutive weekend, Northwestern is set to face a top-25 team. So far, the 'Cats are 3-2 against ranked opponents and likely would have improved to 4-2 if the Pacific game was not canceled in the third inning due to weather--Northwestern led 5-1.
Last Time Out
Northwestern's softball team went 2-2 at the Palm Springs Classic. In their first game, the Wildcats lost to No. 7 Alabama 5-1 after commiting five costly errors. They responded later that night with a come-from-behind 4-2 win over No. 8 Stanford. NU fell to top-ranked UCLA 5-1 in its third game of the tournament, but came back to pound Boston College 8-0 in six innings that night. Northwestern was poised to pick up its third win of the weekend when rain canceled its game with Pacific in the third inning. The Wildcats led that game 5-1 when it was called. Freshman pitcher Eileen Canney went 2-0 and flirted with no-hit bids in both games she pitched.
Scouting the Dolphins
The Dolphins head into the Speedline Tournament with a 7-13 record, including a 1-1 mark in the Atlantic Sun. Jacksonville most recently competed at the UF Invitational, going 0-5, which includes a 1-0 loss to 23rd-ranked Florida. The Dolphins scored 49 runs in a two game series to start the year against Savannah State, shutting the Tigers out in both games. This is the first meeting between the Dolphins and the Wildcats.
Scouting the Ducks
Oregon enters the weekend with a 13-4 overall record, which includes a 11-4 record at neutral sites. The Ducks are riding a ten game winning streak into the Speedline Tournament, which features wins over No. 11 Texas, No. 14 Fresno State, and No. 23 Texas A&M. Two of Oregon's four losses have come at the hands of ranked opponents. Northwestern holds a 2-1 series advantage over the Ducks.
Scouting the Scarlet Knights
Rutgers comes into the tournament with a 3-3 record. All six of their games were played at the Florida Atlantic Tournament in Boca, Raton Florida. In 2003, the Scarlet Knights finished 26-23, including an 8-12 Big East record. Northwestern and Rutgers have met only once with the Wildcats holding a 1-0 advantage.
Scouting the Owls
Temple enters this weekend's competition with a 2-6 record. The Owls lost 1-0 in extra innings to Coastal Carolina, which is also competing in this event. Temple snapped a four game losing skid with a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh at the USF invitational. The series between Northwestern and Temple is tied at 1-1.
Scouting the Chanticleers
Coastal Carolina enters the tournament with a 3-4 record this season. The Chanticleers beat No. 24 Oregon State at the Palm Springs Classic and played No. 7 Stanford tough, losing 3-1. This is the first time Northwestern has faced the Chanticleers.
Head Coach Kate Drohan
Kate Drohan is in her third season at the reins of the Northwestern softball program after serving under legendary head coach Sharon Drysdale for four seasons. Last season, Drohan led the Wildcats to a 36-19 record. The 36 wins was the fifth most in school history and the most since 1995 when the Wildcats won 38 games. After beginning the Big Ten schedule 0-4, Drohan guided the 'Cats to a late season charge. NU won 12 of its final 17 regular season conference games and advanced to the Big Ten championship game. Despite losing to Iowa in the tournament final, the Wildcats received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and headed to Austin, Texas as the region's No. 2 seed. The NCAA Tournament appearance was Northwestern's sixth and first since 2000.In her first season, Drohan coached Northwestern to its fifth straight 20-plus win season. The squad finished in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Big Ten, but did not advance to the Big Ten Tournament because of a tiebreaker.
Fun in the Sun-Shine State
Northwestern returns to the Speedline Tournament after going 5-1 in last year's tourney. The 'Cats went 5-0 in pool play and picked up a couple of upset wins, beating No. 4 Washington 4-1 and No. 16 Massachsetts 9-6. NU outscored its opponents 35-14 in those five game. The 'Cats eventually fell in the quarterfinals to Oklahoma State 2-1 in 10 innings despite 15 strikeouts from pitcher Courtnay Foster.
Double Trouble on the Mound
Despite being a combined three years out of high school softball, Northwestern's pitching duo of Courtnay Foster and Eileen Canney has been a two-headed monster for the opposition. Foster opened the season 3-0 at the Arizona State Triangular. She did not allow a single earned run over the weekend and struck out 27 batters in only 21 innings of work. Canney, meanwhile, went 2-0 at the Palm Springs Classic against No. 8 Stanford and Boston College. She threw four and two-thirds innings of hitless ball in the 'Cats' 4-2 win over the Cardinal and five and two-thirds innings of no-hit ball in Northwestern's 8-0 pounding of the Eagles. Collectively, Foster and Canney have better than a 3-to-1 strikout to walk ratio.
Stiff Competition
Northwestern head coach Kate Drohan has always prided herself on playing the best teams in the nation. Of the Wildcats' seven different teams NU has faced this year, only two were not ranked in the NFCA/USA Today Top-25. In total, 15 of the teams appearing on the 2004 schedule are either ranked or receving votes in the current poll.
