Sunday, March 11
Houston, Texas
9 a.m. CT
Northwestern
15-8
11
vs
3
Lipscomb
14-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Northwestern
1
4
0
0
2
0
4
11
10
1
Lipscomb
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
3
7
1
Photo by: Jim Hilton
NU Concludes Undefeated Weekend With 11-3 Win Over Lipscomb
3/11/2018 11:21:00 AM | Softball
HOUSTON – Northwestern put an exclamation point on a perfect weekend in Houston Sunday, dominating Lipscomb, 11-3, to finish 5-0 at the Hilton Plaza Classic.
Northwestern improves to 15-8 overall on the season while Lipscomb falls to 14-6 with its loss. NU's overall winning streak stands at six games after the Wildcats entered the weekend off a shutout of No. 11 Alabama last Sunday.
Northwestern next plays a non-conference doubleheader March 17 against UIC and Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., before returning home to open the conference season at Sharon J. Drysdale Field March 23-25 against Minnesota.
NU added two more home runs to its weekend total in Sunday's game, bringing its tournament tally to seven. The Wildcats entered the weekend have hit just five total in their previous 18 contests in 2018.
First pitch in this game came three minutes early, and Northwestern was on the board before the scheduled 9 a.m. start time. Sabrina Rabin singled to lead off the game, Marissa Panko sacrificed her to second and then Rachel Lewis doubled just inside of the third-base bag to stake the Wildcats to a 1-0 edge.
The Wildcats kept going in the second, hanging a four-spot on the board. Lily Novak was hit by a pitch to start the frame and two outs later Kenna Wilkey cranked a two-run home run over the wall in left for her second homer of the season. At that point, Lipscomb replaced starter Megan Gray with Chloe Yeager, and NU greeted her enthusiastically.
Rabin re-started the rally against Yeager with a single, then stole second. She moved to third when ball four to Panko was a wild pitch, and Panko herself stole second. Lewis followed with a single into center that scored both Wildcats speedsters on the base paths, pushing the Northwestern lead out to five, 5-0.
In the bottom of the second, Lipscomb loaded the bases with no outs against NU starter Morgan Newport. NU was forced to make a pitching change, inserting Wilkey into the circle. Though all three inherited runners would eventually come in to score, Wilkey recorded a clutch strikeout with the bases still loaded to end the inning, preserving a two-run NU lead at 5-3.
Lewis continued her torrid hitting in the top of the fifth, following a Panko leadoff single with a two-run home run to make it a 7-3 game. Lewis' home run was her third of the weekend and her sixth of the season.
Lipscomb attempted a comeback in the sixth inning, getting runners to second and third with no outs following a walk, a single and an error. Wilkey recovered to induce a pair of foul outs to Sammy Nettling behind the plate before a strikeout stranded both runners where they were.
The Wildcats put an exclamation point on the weekend with another four-run rally in the top of the seventh. Rabin reached on an error and Panko singled, both stealing bases to leave first open. Lewis quickly occupied that bag when she was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for the scoring to begin.
Morgan Nelson started things with an RBI hit by pitch, then Newport drove in a run
with a groundout. Novak contributed a sacrifice fly and Brooke Marquez capped the rally with an RBI single, making it an 11-3 game.
The Lady Bisons got two more base runners in the bottom of the seventh before Wilkey slammed the door.
The first-year Wilkey was incredible all weekend, finishing off a four-win tournament with six more scoreless inning of relief Sunday. She moved to 7-3 on the year by allowing no runs on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts, further lowering her season ERA to 2.84 from the 4.27 mark she entered the weekend with.
Lewis finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with a career-best five RBIs and two runs scored. Rabin and Panko each scored three times with two hits apiece. Marquez had two hits and Wilkey drove in a pair with her home run.
Rabin also stole two bases, giving her 112 for her career to tie Susan Harrelson (1992-95) for third all-time in NU history.
Northwestern improves to 15-8 overall on the season while Lipscomb falls to 14-6 with its loss. NU's overall winning streak stands at six games after the Wildcats entered the weekend off a shutout of No. 11 Alabama last Sunday.
Northwestern next plays a non-conference doubleheader March 17 against UIC and Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., before returning home to open the conference season at Sharon J. Drysdale Field March 23-25 against Minnesota.
NU added two more home runs to its weekend total in Sunday's game, bringing its tournament tally to seven. The Wildcats entered the weekend have hit just five total in their previous 18 contests in 2018.
First pitch in this game came three minutes early, and Northwestern was on the board before the scheduled 9 a.m. start time. Sabrina Rabin singled to lead off the game, Marissa Panko sacrificed her to second and then Rachel Lewis doubled just inside of the third-base bag to stake the Wildcats to a 1-0 edge.
The Wildcats kept going in the second, hanging a four-spot on the board. Lily Novak was hit by a pitch to start the frame and two outs later Kenna Wilkey cranked a two-run home run over the wall in left for her second homer of the season. At that point, Lipscomb replaced starter Megan Gray with Chloe Yeager, and NU greeted her enthusiastically.
Rabin re-started the rally against Yeager with a single, then stole second. She moved to third when ball four to Panko was a wild pitch, and Panko herself stole second. Lewis followed with a single into center that scored both Wildcats speedsters on the base paths, pushing the Northwestern lead out to five, 5-0.
In the bottom of the second, Lipscomb loaded the bases with no outs against NU starter Morgan Newport. NU was forced to make a pitching change, inserting Wilkey into the circle. Though all three inherited runners would eventually come in to score, Wilkey recorded a clutch strikeout with the bases still loaded to end the inning, preserving a two-run NU lead at 5-3.
Lewis continued her torrid hitting in the top of the fifth, following a Panko leadoff single with a two-run home run to make it a 7-3 game. Lewis' home run was her third of the weekend and her sixth of the season.
Lipscomb attempted a comeback in the sixth inning, getting runners to second and third with no outs following a walk, a single and an error. Wilkey recovered to induce a pair of foul outs to Sammy Nettling behind the plate before a strikeout stranded both runners where they were.
The Wildcats put an exclamation point on the weekend with another four-run rally in the top of the seventh. Rabin reached on an error and Panko singled, both stealing bases to leave first open. Lewis quickly occupied that bag when she was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for the scoring to begin.
Morgan Nelson started things with an RBI hit by pitch, then Newport drove in a run
with a groundout. Novak contributed a sacrifice fly and Brooke Marquez capped the rally with an RBI single, making it an 11-3 game.
The Lady Bisons got two more base runners in the bottom of the seventh before Wilkey slammed the door.
The first-year Wilkey was incredible all weekend, finishing off a four-win tournament with six more scoreless inning of relief Sunday. She moved to 7-3 on the year by allowing no runs on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts, further lowering her season ERA to 2.84 from the 4.27 mark she entered the weekend with.
Lewis finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with a career-best five RBIs and two runs scored. Rabin and Panko each scored three times with two hits apiece. Marquez had two hits and Wilkey drove in a pair with her home run.
Rabin also stole two bases, giving her 112 for her career to tie Susan Harrelson (1992-95) for third all-time in NU history.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow@NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wilkey, Kenna (7-3)
L: Gray, Megan (2-3)
Batting:
2B: Lewis, Rachel 1
HR: Lewis, Rachel 1 ; Wilkey, Kenna 1
RBI: Lewis, Rachel 5 ; Nelson, Morgan 1 ; Newport, Morgan 1 ; Novak, Lily 1 ; Marquez, Brooke 1 ; Wilkey, Kenna 2
SH: Panko, Marissa 1 ; Marquez, Brooke 1
SF: Novak, Lily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rabin, Sabrina 3 ; Panko, Marissa 3 ; Lewis, Rachel 2 ; Nelson, Morgan 1 ; Novak, Lily 1 ; Wilkey, Kenna 1
SB: Rabin, Sabrina 2 ; Panko, Marissa 2 ; Bartz, Emma 1
HBP: Lewis, Rachel 1 ; Nelson, Morgan 1 ; Novak, Lily 1
Batting:
2B: Turner, Caitlin 1
RBI: Green, Khayla 1 ; Ward, Peyton 1 ; Gladden, Graysen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DeVault, Hannah 1 ; Fortel, Jordan 1 ; Higgins, Sarah 1
CS: Green, Khayla 1
HBP: DeVault, Hannah 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
5
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
3
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF/OF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
IF/C
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P/U
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballSoftball - Lauren Boyd Tosses Complete Game Shutout, 'Cats Blank Kentucky in NCAA Regional (5/16/25)
Friday, May 16
Softball - 'Cats Storm Back, Secure Series Victory at No. 8 UCLA (5/4/25)
Sunday, May 04
Softball - 'Cats Earn 8-0 Run-Rule Win at No. 8 UCLA (5/2/25)
Saturday, May 03
Softball - Kaylie Avvisato Hits Walk-Off Home Run, 'Cats Take Series vs. Wisconsin (4/27/25)
Sunday, April 27
