Return Trip to No. 20 Michigan Next Up For Northwestern

3/30/2017 10:30:00 AM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: Michigan Series
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	AUDIO	LIVE STATS
Friday, March 31	#20 Michigan	5 p.m. CT/ 6 p.m. ET	Alumni Field	BTN Plus ($)	Live Stats
Saturday, April 1	#20 Michigan	1 p.m. CT/ 2 p.m. ET	Alumni Field	BTN Plus ($)	Live Stats
Sunday, April 2	#20 Michigan	1 p.m. CT/ 2 p.m. ET	Alumni Field	BTN	Live Stats
Social: Twitter (@NUSBCats and @NU_SportsLive) \| Instagram (nusbcats) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern \| Michigan

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern hits the road for the first time in Big Ten play this weekend with a three-game series at No. 20 Michigan in Ann Arbor. This is the second-straight trip to Alumni Field for the Wildcats, who went 1-2 with a dramatic and high-scoring 13-12 victory last year against the then-No. 2 Wolverines.

The first two games of the series will be streamed live on BTN Plus while Sunday's finale has been moved to 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET to accommodate a live broadcast on BTN.

Michigan comes into the series with a 3-0 conference mark after sweeping Penn State to start Big Ten play. NU hosted No. 22 Wisconsin at Sharon J. Drysdale Field, taking one of three in its opening conference series.

The Wolverines are perennially top contenders for the Big Ten crown, but no team has played them tougher than the Wildcats. Since the Kate and Caryl Drohan era began in 2002, NU has racked up 12 wins against Michigan—more than any other team in the conference. In fact, no other program has even reached double-digit victories against U-M in that timespan.

Northwestern's current season of playing the best-of-the-best continues unabated with its trip to Ann Arbor; after the conclusion of Sunday's finale, NU will have played 17 of its 32 games this season against foes ranked in the NFCA top-25 at the time of the contest (that's 53 percent).

According to the most recent NCAA RPI data released this week, Northwestern still has the nation's No. 1 ranked strength of schedule, playing 62 percent of its games against teams in the top-50 of the ranking. NU has played seven games against the top eight squads in the country, and has five top-35 victories including one last weekend over Wisconsin.

In the fine tradition of Northwestern shortstops, junior Marissa Panko has turned into a true breakout start for the Wildcats this season. In NU's last 12 games, Panko is pulverizing the ball to the tune of a .514 average, raising her season mark to .341.

Meanwhile, senior Anna Petersen's bats were recently blessed by Thor. In NU's last three games, Petersen has three home runs—including a dramatic inside-the-park walk-off to defeat No. 22 Wisconsin Saturday at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.

In the circle, Kaley Winegarner continues her bounce back sophomore season. She suffered a devastating injury prior to arriving at Northwestern that sapped a good deal of her speed, but following a first-year campaign of adjustment and a rusty start to 2017, Winegarner has a 1.35 ERA over her last eight appearances of this season. Included in those appearances are three combined outings and 12.2 innings against RPI No. 1 Washington and No. 4 Florida.

NORTHWESTERN RETURNS HOME TO HOST ILLINOIS APRIL 5

Following this road trip, the Wildcats host Illinois in midweek Big Ten action beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. The doubleheader will be broadcast live on BTN. Students who come out to the park will be treated to a between-games Papa Johns pizza party.

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NORTHWESTERN RELEASES STREAMING SCHEDULE FOR REMAINDER OF 2017

Once again this season, the majority of NU's games will be broadcast via BTN Plus or Studio N, two subscription platforms each requiring separate purchases. More information on each service and a helpful broadcast list are below; please note that all of these game designations are subject to change. Links to each game broadcast will be found on the schedule page at NUsports.com.

STUDIO N (12 Games): Studio N audio and video fall under a single subscription once again this year. Northwestern softball SID Doug Meffley will have seven road audio broadcasts in addition to five home streams that will all be part of the Studio N package. Cost is $3.95 for a 24 hour pass, $6.95 for a monthly pass (BEST VALUE!) or $39.95 for an annual pass. We recommend a monthly pass for the Santa Clara Round Robin Tournament because it will also give you access to the entire Wisconsin home series (March 24-26) and the UIC home game (March 29) for one $6.95 purchase.

March 17-19 (Santa Clara Round Robin)
March 24-26 (Wisconsin home series)
March 29 (UIC home game)
May 3 (DePaul home game)

BTN PLUS (16 Games): Northwestern will play 16 games on BTN Plus this season. Cost is $9.95 for a monthly pass for Northwestern games. If you plan to purchase a BTN Plus subscription, we recommend you wait until just before the Michigan series to maximize your monthly pass.