'Cats Face Cardinals and Tar Heels in B1G/ACC Challenge

2/14/2019 10:25:00 AM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: Big Ten/ACC Challenge (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	VIDEO STREAM	LIVE STATS
Friday, Feb. 15	Louisville	10 a.m. CT	Anderson Stadium	N/A	StatBroadcast
Friday, Feb. 15	North Carolina	5:30 p.m CT	Anderson Stadium	ACC Network	StatBroadcast
Saturday, Feb. 16	North Carolina	6:30 p.m. CT	Anderson Stadium	N/A	StatBroadcast
Sunday, Feb. 17	Louisville	9 a.m. CT	Anderson Stadium	N/A	StatBroadcast
Social: Twitter (@NUSBCats and @NU_SportsLive) \| Instagram (nusbcats) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern \| Tournament Central

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern continues its season this weekend at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C. with two games each against Louisville and North Carolina.

After a schedule change due to expected inclement weather, Northwestern will play a game against each team on Friday, instead of two on Saturday.

The Wildcats enter the Challenge 4-1 after a strong opening tournament last week in Fullerton, Calif. with wins over Utah State, Pacific, Louisville and Idaho State.

Two first-years, Jordyn Rudd and Danielle Williams, took home weekly honors from the Big Ten, with Rudd winning Co-Player of the Week and Williams winning Pitcher of the Week and Freshman of the Week.

Jordyn Rudd batted .467 (7-for-15) at the Titan Classic, finishing with two homers, three doubles, 10 RBI, two walks and three runs scored. Her 10 RBI after the first weekend are tied for the most in the Big Ten.

Danielle Williams finished 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA (1 ER/17.2 IP) and 22 strikeouts in four appearances and two starts at the Titan Classic. She is one of just three pitchers in the conference to have three wins after the first weekend, while her 0.40 ERA is the lowest among all Big Ten pitchers who pitched at least 8.0 innings.

Sophomore Rachel Lewis, a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection last season, picked up where she left off with two home runs in the first five games. The first came on her very first at-bat of the season, while the second came down one to tie the game against Idaho State in the top of the sixth.

Northwestern started the season on a defensive tear, pitching three shutouts in the first three games of the season for the first time since 1985. Williams and sophomore Kenna Wilkey fueled the effort on the mound with two complete games from the former and four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts from the latter.

In the Wildcats' matchup with Louisville in Fullerton, Williams threw seven scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts. After a Morgan Newport triple and a sac fly from Lily Novak, Northwestern plated the go-ahead run in the seventh-inning to win 1-0.

The 'Cats last faced off against the Cardinals twice at the 2018 B1G/ACC challenge, and last matched up with the Tar Heels at the same tournament in 2016, where they split the two games.

Fans can follow along with the action all weekend long on Twitter @NUSBCats.

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