NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic (Cathedral City, Calif.)
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	VIDEO STREAM	LIVE STATS
Friday, Feb. 22	BYU	1 p.m. CT/ 11 a.m. PT	Pawtucket Field	Flo Softball ($)	TBD
Friday, Feb. 22	Duke	8:30 p.m. CT/ 6:30 p.m. PT	Pawtucket Field	Flo Softball ($)	TBD
Saturday, Feb. 23	Utah	Noon CT/ 10 a.m. PT	Fenway Field	Flo Softball ($)	TBD
Saturday, Feb. 23	Long Beach State	2:30 p.m. CT/ 12:30 p.m. PT	DesMoines Field	Flo Softball ($)	TBD
Sunday, Feb. 24	#5 Washington	11 a.m. CT/ 9 a.m. PT	Yankee Field	Flo Softball ($)	TBD
Social: Twitter (@NUSBCats and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (nusbcats) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern | Official Tournament Website

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern looks to continue its hot start to the season at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, the nation's most prestigious non-conference tournament this weekend in Cathedral City, Calif.
 
The Wildcats will face five of the other 27 teams in attendance in their 14th appearance at the tournament, highlighted by their first ranked matchup of the season against No. 5 Washington on Sunday.
 
Northwestern is 7-2 on the young season after going 3-1 last weekend at the ACC/B1G Challenge against North Carolina and Louisville. It marks their best start to a season since 2008, when the 'Cats advanced to an NCAA Super Regional. 
 
The strong play from the first-year Wildcats has continued through the first two weeks of the season. Danielle Williams leads the Big Ten with six wins and has thrown a complete game in each of her four starts. Her six wins are also tied for the second-most nationally and the most by any first year in the country. 
 
First year Jordyn Rudd leads NU with 14 RBI, ranking fifth in the Big Ten and seventh among all rookies in the country. Her classmate Nikki Cuchran leads Northwestern with a .423 batting average, which ranks eighth in the conference. 
 
The Wildcat pitching staff has been excellent in the circle, tossing 66 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched so far this season. With a team ERA of 1.79, Northwestern is just one of three squads in the Big Ten to keep their ERA under 2.00.
 
While the #B1GCats have never squared off against Duke, they own the all-time series advantage against Utah, and are tied all-time against BYU. The 'Cats faced BYU, Long Beach State and Washington in 2018. 
 
Northwestern picked up two wins last season at the Mary Nutter against San Diego State and St. Johns. 
 
Fans looking to follow along can get live tweets all weekend @NUSBCats on Twitter. All matches will also be streamed live on FloSoftball.
 

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