Friday, March 30
Evanston, Ill.
3 p.m. CT

Northwestern

vs

Nebraska

Northwestern team lineup national anthem softball
Photo by: Stephen J. Carrera

Northwestern Welcomes Nebraska To Sharon J. Drysdale Field

3/29/2018 12:37:00 PM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: Nebraska Series
DATE OPPONENT TIME LOCATION COVERAGE LIVE STATS
Friday, March 30 Nebraska 3 p.m. CT Drysdale Field
Evanston, lll.
BTN Plus Stream Live Stats
Saturday, March 31 Nebraska 1 p.m. CT Drysdale Field
Evanston, lll.
BTN Plus Stream Live Stats
Sunday, April 1 Nebraska Noon CT Drysdale Field
Evanston, lll.
BTN Plus Stream Live Stats
Social: Twitter (@NUSBCats and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (nusbcats) | Facebook
Game Notes: Northwestern | TICKETS


EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern continues its action-packed beginning to the 2018 Big Ten schedule this weekend, March 30-April 1, when it welcomes Nebraska to Sharon J. Drysdale Field for a three-game set.

First pitch Friday, March 30, is scheduled for 3 p.m. while Saturday's start time in 1 p.m. and Sunday's finale is slated for noon. Following Saturday's game, all youth players in the 8th grade and under are invited to stick around and meet the 'Cats. On Easter Sunday, join the fun at The J for an Easter egg hunt pre-game for the chance to win some cool Northwestern prizes!

The Wildcats are facing an offensive gauntlet to start the B1G season, first winning a series against defending league champion Minnesota before splitting a Wednesday doubleheader against the league's best offense at Illinois. Now the Cornhuskers come to town as a top-4 scoring squad in the Big Ten.

Northwestern has answered with firepower of its own, currently ranking second in the league and 42nd in the country in runs per game at 5.53. The major catalysts of all of this offense start at the top of the lineup with senior Sabrina Rabin and continue with first-year Rachel Lewis, who in recent weeks has emerged as one of the nation's most powerful sluggers.

Rabin is currently on a 13-game hitting streak—one game shy of her career-best—and is batting a phenomenal .510 during that stretch. Meanwhile, Lewis has been smashing balls out of the park at a frenetic clip; in five Big Ten games she has five home runs, good for 11 RBIs and a 1.313 slugging percentage. All of that production has skyrocketed her up to ninth in the nation with 40 RBIs, 13th in the country with 11 home runs and 27th in the NCAA in runs scored per game (1.00).

Lest opponents opt to pitch around Lewis during her torrid hot streak, junior Morgan Nelson has gone back-to-back jacks with Lewis twice already this season, including once on Wednesday at Illinois.

Not to be out-done, the middle of the order is also producing wonderfully. Senior Sammy Nettling is on a seven-game hitting streak and is batting .375 over Northwestern's last 10 games. Classmate Brooke Marquez is hitting .344 in NU's last 12 games, smashing her first two home runs since her sophomore season of 2016.

Nebraska comes to town as the nation's No. 21 team in the current NCAA RPI (Northwestern is 36) after taking 2-of-3 off of Michigan State during the conference's opening weekend. The Cornhuskers scored 22 runs in their three games with the Spartans, though MSU plated 21 itself during what was a wild start to B1G play league wide.

After this weekend, Northwestern will travel to Purdue April 6-8 for its first three-game set away from The J this season before returning home to host No. 24 Ohio State April 13-15.


NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL HOME TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

In addition to Nebraska (RPI No. 21), Ohio State (RPI No. 33 ) and Iowa (No. 47) both travel to Evanston this season, giving NU its best home schedule in recent memory. Season passes are still available!


PROGRAMMING NOTE

Below is a coverage schedule for the remainder of the season. In addition to this coverage, EVERY GAME will have live stats and live tweets at NUsports.com and @NUSBCats on Twitter.

NEBRASKA SERIES (March 20-April 1)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go. For BTN Plus on BTN2Go, Cost is $9.95 for a monthly pass for Northwestern games.

PURDUE SERIES (April 6-8)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

OHIO STATE SERIES (April 13-15)
April 13 will be televised live on BTN and BTN2Go.
April 14-15 will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

RUTGERS SERIES (April 20-22)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

IOWA SERIES (April 27-29)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

WISCONSIN SERIES (May 4-6)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Both home games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go. Both away games will have Studio N audio, which is a subscription product. Cost is $3.95 for a 24-hour pass.


PLAY BALL!
For a complete season preview and notes on this weekend's Nebraska series, download our Game Notes available here and in the chart at the top of this page.


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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!

Players Mentioned

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