Northwestern Hosts No. 22 Ohio State This Weekend At The J

4/11/2018 7:56:00 AM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: Ohio State Series
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	COVERAGE	LIVE STATS
Friday, April 13	#22 Ohio State	3:30 p.m.	Evanston, Ill.	BTN BTN2Go	Live Stats
Saturday, April 14	#22 Ohio State	1 p.m.	Evanston, Ill.	BTN Plus Stream	Live Stats
Sunday, April 15	#22 Ohio State	Noon	Evanston, Ill.	BTN Plus Stream	Live Stats
Social: Twitter (@NUSBCats and @NU_SportsLive) \| Instagram (nusbcats) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern \| TICKETS

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern returns home this weekend, April 13-15, to host No. 22 Ohio State at Sharon J. Drysdale Field in a series that promises to be high octane and a whole lot of fun.

First pitch Friday is at a special 3:30 p.m. time and will feature the fan favorite "Brinner at the Ballpark:" Breakfast for Dinner! The full spread is free for students and $10 for all fans. In honor of Friday the 13th, the first 150 fans through the gate also will receive a special edition catcher's mask.

On Saturday, Northwestern celebrates its storied past with Alumni Day at the park. Nearly two dozen former Wildcats will be welcomed home to The J for a 1 p.m. start, and they will participate in a post-game home run derby on the field.

Sunday's noon start is Kid's Day. All kids in attendance are invited to run the bases after the game.

Northwestern continued its recent power surge at the plate last weekend, blasting seven home runs at cavernous Bittinger Stadium in West Lafayette, including four homer in Sunday's game alone. Rachel Lewis still ranks among the nation's top-20 in both home runs (12) and RBIs (43). She and Morgan Nelson (eight homers) went back-to-back for the third time this season during the Purdue series.

Not to be outdone, first-year Kenna Wilkey had a pair of three-run homers and senior Sammy Nettling, who is as hot as any Wildcat in Big Ten play, added her first two home runs of the season. After a slow start to the year at the plate, Nettling is batting .355 and slugging .742 with a .500 on-base percentage in Big Ten play. Nettling crushed six home runs in an abbreviated freshman season, but had just one after that until last weekend's outburst.

As a team, Northwestern now is in the top-30 in the nation in runs scored at 5.86 per game. Ohio State is not far behind the Wildcats, averaging 5.38 runs per game this year in what promises to be an explosive series at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.

Ohio State enters the weekend ranked 22nd in the country after a tremendous non-conference performance that saw the Buckeyes start Big Ten play with a 19-4 record. The Buckeyes are currently 5-4 in league play since then; they will host a Wednesday night double header versus Penn State before heading north to Evanston.

This weekend marks the penultimate Big Ten series at Sharon J. Drysdale Field this season. Northwestern travels to Rutgers next weekend, April 20-22, before Senior Weekend arrives April 27-29 against Iowa. As part of that series, the Wildcats will host the 12th annual Purple Auction at the new Segal Visitors Center on campus following the Saturday contest against the Hawkeyes.

The regular season concludes May 4-6 with a series at Wisconsin, which also hosts the 2018 Big Ten Tournament the following weekend.

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL HOME TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

NU's best home schedule in recent memory continues this week against No. 22 Ohio State and features the upcoming Senior Weekend April 27-29 against Iowa. Tickets are available NOW!

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.

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. For BTN Plus on BTN2Go, Cost is $9.95 for a monthly pass for Northwestern games.

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 Ohio State series, download our Game Notes available here and in the chart at the top of this page.