Friday, April 27
Evanston, Ill.
4 p.m. CT
Northwestern
31-13, 12-5
4
vs
1
Iowa
19-27, 5-12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Iowa
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
0
Northwestern
1
0
3
0
0
0
X
4
6
1
Northwestern Opens Senior Weekend With 4-1 Win Over Iowa
4/27/2018 6:11:00 PM | Softball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern opened Senior Weekend Friday with a 4-1 win over Iowa at Sharon J. Drysdale Field, running its current winning streak to nine games in the process.
Northwestern now is 31-13 overall on the season, 12-5 in the Big Ten, while Iowa is 19-27 on the year, 5-12 in the league.
Senior Weekend continues in Evanston tomorrow, Saturday, April 28, with a 1 p.m. first pitch. Following the game, Northwestern will hold its 12th annual Purple Auction at the Segal Visitor's Center on campus beginning at 6:30 p.m. For more information on the auction, visit NUsports.com/PurpleAuction.
Senior Day festivities on Sunday will start 10 minutes prior to a noon CT first pitch.
BUY YOUR NORTHWESTERN TICKETS HERE!
On Senior Weekend, senior Sabrina Rabin got the Wildcats started right in the first inning Friday. She singled then stole second base for the 126th stolen base of her career – tying her for third in Big Ten Conference history with Iowa's Tasha Reents (1993-96). Rabin moved to third on a Rachel Lewis groundout then came home when Morgan Nelson tattooed a one-hop RBI single that nearly left a Loony Tunes-style hole in the shortstop while giving NU a 1-0 lead.
Iowa immediately knotted the game in the top of the second with a one-out solo home run, but that score came un-knotted in the bottom of the third. Rabin led off with a triple to the gap in right center before Lewis and Morgan recorded back-to-back RBI doubles that put NU back in front, 3-1. Sammy Nettling was hit by a pitch and Marissa Panko walked to load the bases, and Kenna Wilkey capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to center that plated Nelson for a 4-1 lead.
Rachel Lewis with a double to center and the #B1GCats are back on top!
— NorthwesternSoftball (@NUSBcats) April 27, 2018
NU 2, Iowa 1 | B3 pic.twitter.com/QoPfkNkOnp
It's not back-to-back jacks, but back-to-back RBI doubles work great, too! Morgan Nelson drives home Lewis with a double of her own!#B1GCats 3, Iowa 1 | B3 pic.twitter.com/4vaouJsF2X
— NorthwesternSoftball (@NUSBcats) April 27, 2018
Wilkey, NU's starter in the circle in the game, stranded a pair of Hawkeyes' runners in the top of the fourth with a backward K, then Iowa elected to replace its starter Lauren Shaw in the circle with Erin Riding. Morgan Newport led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk against Riding. Emma Bartz replaced Newport on the base paths and swiped second before Lewis and Nelson joined her on base via walks. Iowa's new hurler was able to escape unscathed with a force at the plate and a flyout to right.
Kenna Wilkey strands a pair of Hawkeyes in the fourth with this inning-ending backward K!#B1GCats 4, Iowa 1 | B4 pic.twitter.com/QUEdQeDTg7
— NorthwesternSoftball (@NUSBcats) April 27, 2018
Iowa threatened again in the top of the fifth, getting a pair of runners aboard against Wilkey with nobody out. The next batter drove a long fly ball to the deepest part of the park where Rabin did her best Willie Mays impression with an incredible over the shoulder basket catch before slapping up against the wall. From there, Wilkey retired the next two Hawkeyes in much less dramatic fashion to keep it a 4-1 contest.
Willie Mays err...Sabrina Rabin with the basket-style catch in deep center to save two runs in the fifth!#B1GCats 4, Iowa 1 | B5 pic.twitter.com/FeBsopX8M5
— NorthwesternSoftball (@NUSBcats) April 27, 2018
Neither team allowed a run after NU's three-run outburst in the third. Both Wilkey and Riding retired the side in order in the sixth, and Wilkey worked around a leadoff NU error and a two-out walk in the seventh to close out the game.
Wilkey has won each of her last eight decisions to run her current record 16-4 on the season. She went all the way in the start, allowing one run on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
Nelson led NU at the plate with a 2-for-3 day, walking once and driving in two. Rabin also had two hits including a triple, scoring a pair of runs.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wilkey, Kenna (16-4)
L: Lauren Shaw (3-12)
Batting:
HR: Allie Wood 1
RBI: Allie Wood 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Allie Wood 1
Batting:
2B: Lewis, Rachel 1 ; Nelson, Morgan 1
3B: Rabin, Sabrina 1
RBI: Lewis, Rachel 1 ; Nelson, Morgan 2 ; Wilkey, Kenna 1
SF: Wilkey, Kenna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rabin, Sabrina 2 ; Lewis, Rachel 1 ; Nelson, Morgan 1
SB: Rabin, Sabrina 1 ; Boyd, Abbey 1 ; Bartz, Emma 1
HBP: Nettling, Sammy 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ SoftballIF/C
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P/U
/ Softball
IF/OF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballP
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