Northwestern University Athletics
No. 12 Wildcats Prowl South to NFCA Leadoff Classic
2/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 23, 2006
Northwestern's NFCA Leadoff Classic Notes in PDF Format
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 12 Northwestern heads south this weekend to participate in one of the premier softball tournaments of the season, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.
The Wildcats are one of 24 teams converging on the South Commons Complex for the 11th annual Classic, are one of 11 teams in the field currently ranked in the NFCA/USA Today top 25 and are one of five Big Ten squads in the field.
The Classic follows a pool play format followed by a tournament bracket. After round-robin games in each of six, four-team pools, participants are seeded into the Gold, Silver or Bronze brackets for tournament play. The winner of the Gold bracket is crowned the Leadoff Classic champion.
No. 24 Louisville, Massachusetts and Illinois State comprise the other three entrants in Northwestern's pool.
Northwestern enters this weekend off a 4-1 performance at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. Senior Kristen Amegin (West Sacramento, Calif./Elk Grove) led the 'Cats with a .500 average, three home runs and eight RBIs en route to being named Big Ten Player of the Week. Junior Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) also hit .500 and had four doubles for Northwestern, while junior Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) tossed a one-hit, 14-strikeout shutout of No. 8 California.
Amegin is off to a torrid start to her year, leading the 'Cats with a .414 average, 12 hits, four home runs, 11 RBIs, an .862 slugging percentage and a .486 on base percentage.
Freshman Tammy Williams (El Dorado Springs, Mo./Osceola) is having a good start to her college career, leading NU with seven runs scored and four doubles from the leadoff spot in the lineup.
For Northwestern's complete NFCA Leadoff Classic preview and notes, click the link at the top of the page.
