Northwestern, Cal Meet To Kick Off 2018 NCAA Athens Regional

5/15/2018 2:33:00 PM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: NCAA Athens Regional
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	WATCH	LISTEN	LIVE STATS
GAME 1: Friday, May 18	NU vs. California	11 a.m. CT Noon ET	Jack Turner Stadium Athens, Ga.	ESPNU	WNUR 89.3 FM	Live Stats
GAME 2: Friday, May 18	Harvard vs. Georgia	1:30 p.m. CT/ 2:30 p.m. ET	Jack Turner Stadium Athens, Ga.	SEC Network
GAME 3: Saturday, May 19	Winner G1 vs. Winner G2	1:30 p.m. CT/ 2:30 p.m. ET	Jack Turner Stadium Athens, Ga.	ESPN (TBD)
GAME 4: Saturday, May 19	Loser G1 vs. Loser G2	4 p.m. CT/ 5 p.m. ET	Jack Turner Stadium Athens, Ga.	ESPN (TBD)
GAME 5: Saturday, May 19	Loser G3 vs. Winner G4	6:30 p.m. CT/ 7:30 p.m. ET	Jack Turner Stadium Athens, Ga.	ESPN (TBD)
GAME 6: Sunday, May 20	Winner G3 vs. Winner G5	11 a.m. CT/ Noon ET	Jack Turner Stadium Athens, Ga.	ESPN (TBD)
GAME 7: Sunday, May 20	(If Necessary)	1:30 p.m. CT/ 2:30 p.m. ET	Jack Turner Stadium Athens, Ga.	ESPN (TBD)
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern makes its 17th appearance as a member of the NCAA Tournament field this weekend when it travels to Athens, Georgia, for a four-team Regional at Jack Turner Stadium—site of NU's last NCAA postseason appearance in 2016.

The Wildcats are back in the field following a one-year absence, earning one of 32 at-large berths with a 36-17 record. NU finished fourth in the Big Ten before advancing to the B1G Tournament championship game last Sunday.

The Wildcats showed toughness and resilience at the Big Ten Tournament when weather issues pushed NU's opening game all the way back into what was supposed to be Championship Saturday. Facing the possibility of having to win three games in one day, NU cheerily won its first two before lightning delayed the final to end what potentially could have been a 16-hour day at the park.

All that is to say, Northwestern is battle tested for what might become a similar scenario at the NCAA Regional. As of this writing, forecasts for Athens show at least an 80 percent of storms on every day from practice day Thursday through championship Sunday with the exception of Friday (when it is a 50 percent chance). Should delays materialize, the Wildcats may be best prepared to handle it. In addition to their Big Ten Tournament experience, Northwestern earned wins in precipitation-heavy games against fellow NCAA Tournament teams Minnesota, Ohio State and Notre Dame during the year. It's been a WILD spring, indeed!

When Northwestern last played in Athens at the 2016 Regional, the Wildcats opened with a 2-1 win over Oklahoma State before falling in a 5-2 winner's backet game to the host Bulldogs. Oklahoma State then won the re-match, 3-2, in nine innings in the loser's bracket finale. That showing was a rare one for Northwestern; in its nine previous appearances in the current Regional-Super Regional-WCWS format, the Wildcats have advanced to at least the Regional championship round six times. NU has four Regional titles and two Women's College World Series appearances (where they finished 2nd in 2006 and 3rd in 2007).

Here's a quick look at the four teams at the Athens Regional:

No. 1 seed (7th overall) Georgia (43-11; 2nd Place in the SEC; At-Large Big)
Georgia began the year with a robust 26-1 record before going 17-10 to finish the season. The Bulldogs have speed atop their lineup in the form of Cortni Emanuel, who is batting a team-high .439 with 48 stolen bases (in 52) attempts this year. Power lurks behind her with Alyssa DiCarlo and Justice Milz, who have combined for 28 home runs and 111 RBIs. That duo is not unlike NU's back-to-back power threats Rachel Lewis and Morgan Nelson, who have combined for 30 home runs and 109 RBIs (while also stealing 44 bases). In the circle, the Bulldogs ace Brittany Gray was lost for the season in mid-April. Mary Wilson Avant (9-3, 2.13 ERA) and Kylie Bass (13-3, 2.33 ERA) have taken on the brunt of the work since then.

No. 2 seed California (34-19; 7th Place in the Pac-12; At-Large Bid)
California faced a difficult schedule in 2018, taking on the No. 25 rated strength of schedule in the country. The Golden Bears played 17 games against the RPI top-25 this year, though they won just one of those contests (a 6-5 decision over Long Beach State). The squad carries a .271 team batting average into the Regional, led by Lindsay Rood (.339, 15 doubles, 30 steals), Jazmyn Jackson (.326, 31 RBIs) and Mikayla Coelho (.309, 33 RBIs). In the circle, Kamalani Dung (18-5, 2.03 ERA) and Zoe Conley (16-12, 2.24 ERA) have split the vast majority of innings this season.

No. 3 seed Northwestern (36-17; 4th Place in the Big Ten; At-Large Bid)
NU is buoyed by the experience of four senior starters (and 10 veterans overall who were on the squad when NU last played in the Athens Regional). Sabrina Rabin is a four-time All-Big Ten selection, Sammy Nettling has handled a youthful pitching staff while catching every pitch this season, Marissa Panko's athletic brand of shortstop leads a talented infield and Brooke Marquez's work ethic in right field and at the plate lays the foundation for NU's team identity. At the other end of the experience spectrum, first-year Rachel Lewis is putting together one of the nation's finest debut seasons while classmate Kenna Wilkey has stepped up as NU's ace in the circle, and every NU pitcher has been helped by first-year Mac Dunlap's physical defense at third. Junior Morgan Nelson's bat is a major threat, junior Lily Novak is the Big Ten's best defensive first baseman and sophomore Morgan Newport gives NU a true 1-2 weapon in the circle.

No. 4 seed Harvard (23-16; 2nd Place in the Ivy; Automatic Bid)
Harvard finished second in the Ivy with a 14-7 conference mark before sweeping Dartmouth in the championship series to pick up an automatic bid. Junior shortstop Rhianna Rich leads a trio of potent Crimson offensive threats with a .442 batting average, 42 runs scored and 28 RBIs. Maddy Kaplan (.390, 29 RBIs) and Meagan Lantz (.371, 20 RBIs, 16 steals) also have gaudy averages for Harvard. In the circle, Katie Duncan has thrown over half of the season's innings for Harvard, compiling a 15-9 record with a 2.75 ERA.

PROGRAMMING NOTE

LIVE TELEVISION: All games at the Athens Regional will be televised by ESPN somewhere on the ESPN family of networks. Check WatchESPN.com for details.

LIVE AUDIO: Student Radio WNUR 89.3 FM will provide live coverage of all NU games in this Regional with Matt McHugh and Athens Region veteran Austin Miller on the call. All games will be available via internet live stream.

LIVE STATS: Live stats for every game can be found on the schedule page at NUsports.com, or by clicking here.

PLAY BALL!
For a complete preview and notes on this weekend's NCAA Athens Regional, download our Game Notes available here and in the chart at the top of this page. The chart on this page will continue to be updated throughout the tournament, so check back here for watch links and more.