Northwestern University Athletics
Red-Hot 'Cats To Host Indiana, Purdue
4/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 22, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Fresh off the best Big Ten road trip in recent Northwestern history, the Wildcats return to Sharon J. Drysdale Field to host Indiana and Purdue this weekend. With its pair of sweeps at Penn State and Ohio State, NU completed its first 4-0 conference weekend since the Big Ten began the current scheduling five years ago. Now the 'Cats (24-13, 7-5 Big Ten) are in the midst of a six-game winning streak and hope to carry that momentum into this weekend's play.
NU opens Friday with a 3 p.m. game against Indiana before taking on the Hoosiers again Saturday at noon. The Wildcats will then host Purdue in a Sunday doubleheader also beginning at noon.
Freshman Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) and sophomores Kristen Amegin (W. Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) and Courtnay Foster (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro) had big weeks for the Wildcats. Cooper hit a two-run walk-off home run Saturday to beat Penn State, while Amegin hit a pair of homers on the week to tie the NU season-single record of seven.
Foster earned three wins and a save, including a 14 strikeout effort-her season high for a seven-inning contest-in a Saturday shutout of the Nitanny Lions. Her success netted her Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors, the second time she has received the award this season and the fifth time for her career.
Tory Yamaguchi leads Indiana (26-25, 2-8 Big Ten) into Evanston fresh off a 4-for-4 performance in a 3-2 Hoosier win over Louisville Wednesday. The catcher paces Indiana at the plate with a .327 average, seven home runs and 11 steals. Mariangee Bogado is the Hoosier ace, posting 183 strikeouts in 166.1 innings of work while compiling a 14-14 record.
Purdue enters the weekend with a 27-19 overall record, 2-8 in the Big Ten. Northwestern already faced Purdue earlier this year at the Speedline Tournament in Clearwater, Fla., beating the Boilermakers 5-2 in eight innings. Foster earned the win in the game for NU.
Tricia Lilley is currently Purdue's big gun, batting .367 with a team-best 54 hits, 25 runs and 28 RBIs. Brooke Baker and Diana LaRiva do all of the pitching for the Boilers, both posting sub-2.00 ERAs. LaRiva has struck out 164 batters in her 142.0 innings while Baker has spun seven shutouts on the year.
The Wildcats will travel to Peoria, Ill., Tuesday for a mid-week night game with Bradley. The Braves are 28-20 overall and 10-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Northwestern has never lost to Bradley, posting a 5-0 record in the series.
