Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Home Opener With Badgers Has New Schedule
3/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
| 2015 Northwestern Softball -- Wisconsin Series |
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| Game Notes | Northwestern's Weekly Release |
| Game One: Northwestern (15-11, 3-0 B1G) vs. Wisconsin (13-16, 0-3 B1G) |
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| Date | Saturday, March 28 | Noon CT |
| Location | Sharon J. Drysdale Field | Evanston, Ill. |
| Live Coverage | BTN Plus on BTN2GO | Gametracker | @NU_SportsLIVE  |
| Game Two: Northwestern (15-11, 3-0 B1G) vs. Wisconsin (13-16, 0-3 B1G) |
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| Date | Saturday, March 28 | 2 p.m. CT |
| Location | Sharon J. Drysdale Field | Evanston, Ill. |
| Live Coverage | BTN Plus on BTN2GO | Gametracker | @NU_SportsLIVE |
| Game Three: Northwestern (15-11, 3-0 B1G) vs. Wisconsin (13-16, 0-3 B1G) |
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| Date | Sunday, March 29 | Noon CT |
| Location | Sharon J. Drysdale Field | Evanston, Ill. |
| Live Coverage | BTN Plus on BTN2GO | Gametracker | @NU_SportsLIVE |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern returns home this weekend to host its first games of the year at Sharon J. Drysdale Field, welcoming Wisconsin to Evanston for a trio of contests.
Weather already has adjusted the orginally publicized schedule; instead of playing one game each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend, the Wildcats and Badgers will face off in a noon CT doubleheader Saturday, March 28, before playing the series finale at noon CT Sunday, March 29. All games are schedule to be streamed live via BTN Plus on BTN2GO.
Tickets are available now online at NUsports.com or at the gate. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for youth and $3 for groups of 15 or more. New this year, fans can purchase 10-ticket flex plans at NUsports.com for just $3 a ticket. These tickets can be used in any combination for Northwestern home games at "The J." As always, parking is free and tailgating encouraged at NU Softball!
NU is coming off a 4-1 Spring Break trip that included a Big Ten series sweep of Penn State and an incredible power surge at the plate. The Wildcats entered last week having hit 17 home runs in their first 21 games of the 2015 season. They they proceeded to hit 19 total in their five Spring Break games including 13 in three games against the Nittany Lions. Seniors Olivia Duehr and Andrea DiPrima have led the power surge with four home runs apiece in the last five games. Duehr's all came at Penn State and earned her Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
In the circle, Kristen Wood won all three games at Penn State, beginning with a 5-inning, 11-strikeout, one-hit blanking of the Nittany Lions. She then picked up the victory in the second game with 4.0 innings of scoreless relief before going 8.0-innings complete in Game Three of an eventualy 5-4 Wildcats win.
Following the PSU series, NU ventured to New York City to enjoy some sightseeing and softball. On Monday the team visited the September 11 Memorial and received a guided tour from the lead architect of the Memorial Museum. The #B1GCats then had the afternoon off to explore Times Square and 5th Avenue before reconvening for a networking dinner with NYC-area alumni.
Thank you @NUforLife! The 'Cats had an awesome night preparing for the future! #NUSBinNYC pic.twitter.com/nekZ8QpB3j
-- NorthwesternSoftball (@NUSBcats) March 24, 2015
On Tuesday, Northwestern played Hofstra--a fellow top-30 NCAA RPI team--and Fordham in a doubleheader in Hempstead. The Pride staged late comebacks in both the sixth and the eighth innings before evenutally topping the Wildcats, 6-5, in ten innings. NU immediately bounced back with an eight-hit, six-run first inning en route to a 7-2 win against Fordham.
Wisconsin enters this series with a 13-16 overall record, 0-3 in the Big Ten. The Badgers were swept by Purdue in West Lafayette in their first conference series of the season. Wisconsin has largely struggled in 2015 after making the NCAA Regional final in Eugene, Oregon, last year. Despite the under-500 record, Wisconsin still possesses a ton of speed; the Badgers have 86 steals in 102 attempts through 29 games this year.
PLAY BALL!
For a complete preview and notes on this week's Wisconsin series, download the Northwestern weekly release available in the chart at the top of this page.
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