Northwestern University Athletics
Game On: Big Ten Season Opens in Evanston
3/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 30, 2005
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 20/23 Northwestern opens its home schedule this weekend with the first games of the 2005 Big Ten schedule, hosting Illinois and No. 24/19 Iowa at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
The Wildcats enter the weekend off a largely successful nonconference slate which included wins over No. 2 Cal, No. 3/5 Stanford (twice), No. 12 Washington, No. 20 Pacific and No. 23 Long Beach State. NU played a brutal schedule in preperation for the Conference season, competing in nine games against ranked opponents and registering a 6-3 record in those contests.
Northwestern and Illinois played a preview to this weekend last Sunday, March 26, at the Stanford Tournament. In that game, Jenna Hall hit a seventh-inning, three-run single to giving the Illini a 5-3 win after NU's Stephanie Churchwell had put the Wildcats ahead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning. Junior Jamie Dotson went 3-for-4 in the game for the 'Cats.
NU sophomore Garland Cooper, last year's Big Ten batting champion, enters the weekend ranked fourth in the Conference with a .403 batting average. Junior Kristen Amegin needs just one home run to tie NU's all-time record, while junior Courtnay Foster will move into second-place all-time in strikeouts by herself with her next whiffed batter.
Freshman of the Year candidates will square off early this season when Churchwell takes on Iowa's Emily Nichols. Churchwell has a .362 average and ranks in the top-10 in the Big Ten in hits (4th), steals (7th) and total bases (8th). Nichols is hitting .353 and leads the Conference in homers (12) and RBIs (31).
Game Facts
Sharon J. Drysdale Field
Evanston, Ill.
• Fri., April 1, 2005, 3 p.m. CT
Northwestern vs. Illinois (15-11)
• Sat., April 2, 2005, Noon CT
Northwestern vs. Illinois (15-11)
• Sun., April 3, 2005, Noon/2:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern vs. No. 24/19 Iowa (27-5)
The Series
Series With Illinois: Illinois leads, 5-4
Last Result: 5-3, Illinois (March 26, 2005, at Palo Alto, Calif.)
Series Streak: 2, Illinois
Series With Iowa: NU leads, 41-39
Last Result: 6-1, Iowa (April 2, 2004, at Iowa City, Iowa)
Series Streak: 4, Iowa
