Northwestern University Athletics
No. 8 Northwestern Hosts Indiana in Saturday Doubleheader
4/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 3, 2009
Northwestern's Indiana Series Game Notes (PDF Format) 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 8 Northwestern continues its brief Big Ten home stand with a 1 p.m. CT Saturday doubleheader against Indiana at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. This is a change from the originally scheduled Saturday-Sunday series because of heavy precipitation headed to town Sunday.
Northwestern is coming off a sweep of Michigan State in a Wednesday doubleheader in Evanston, winning both games in run-rule fashion. The Wildcats hit three home runs in the first contest to win 9-1 (5) before breaking out the broom with an 11-2 (6) victory in the second.
Northwestern is alone on top of the Big Ten standings with a 6-0 record through the first three series of the year. A four-team glut comprised of No. 17 Ohio State, Iowa, Minnesota and Purdue is tied for second place in the conference standings at 3-1.
Indiana enters this weekend after splitting its last conference series against Wisconsin. The Hoosiers are tied for eighth in the Big Ten with the Badgers at this early point in the season, ranking ahead of winless Michigan State and Penn State.
Junior Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) had a huge series versus Michigan State Wednesday, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs and five runs scored in the two games. She set career single-game bests with three hits, three runs and 10 total bases (on a double and two home runs) in the first contest.
Senior Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) continued her red-hot hitting, raising her season average to .506 after facing the Spartans. She hit a walk-off home run in the first game to end it in run-rule fashion in five innings, marking her fifth-straight game with a home run.
The games mark a milestone opportunity for Northwestern coaches Kate Drohan and Caryl Drohan. The sisters have won 298 games since their arrival in Evanston in 2002; the pair would reach 300 career victories with a sweep Saturday.
The Indiana series marks a homecoming for Hoosier assistant coaches Amanda Rivera and Christy Hebert. Rivera was a volunteer assistant at NU when the Wildcats finished second at the 2006 Women's College World Series and third at the 2007 WCWS. Hebert spent two seasons as an assistant in Evanston from 1999-2000. Both are in their first seasons at Indiana.
On The Radio/Internet
Saturday's first game will be carried by WNUR over the air, while the second will be broadcast on the internet at sports.wnur.org. All WNUR broadcasts, both over the air and internet only, also can be heard at sports.wnur.org. In addition, live streaming video of Saturday's games will be provided at NUsports.com
VOTE FOR TAMMY!
Senior Tammy Williams is one of 10 finalists for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Fan voting counts for 1/3 of the final tally, and fans can vote once per day until May 7. Visit www.seniorclassaward.com or text SB10 to 839863 on your mobile device.
