First Place 'Cats Look to Stay Hot in Home Weekend Series vs. Wisconsin

4/11/2019 5:55:00 PM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: GAME-DAY INFO
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	VIDEO STREAM	LIVE STATS
Friday, Apr. 12	#25 Wisconsin	4 p.m. CT	Sharon J. Drysdale Field	BTN Plus	Sidearm
Saturday, Apr. 13	#25 Wisconsin	1 p.m. CT	Sharon J. Drysdale Field	BTN Plus	Sidearm
Saturday, Apr. 13	#25 Wisconsin	~ 4 p.m. CT	Sharon J. Drysdale Field	BTN Plus	Sidearm
Social: Twitter (@NUSBCats and @NU_Sports) \| Instagram (nusbcats) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern

Evanston, Ill. -- After locking in its eighth-straight win on Tuesday, Northwestern will put its perfect conference record to the test when it hosts #25 Wisconsin for a three-game series this weekend at Sharon J. Drsydale Field.

The three-game series begins on Friday at 4 p.m. CT followed by a doubleheader starting Saturday at 1 p.m., with the second game beginning 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Game coverage will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go.

The Wildcats have momentum heading into this matchup after their 3-1 victory over Notre Dame on Tuesday, marking head coach Kate Drohan and associate head coach Caryl Drohan's 600th career win and giving NU a top-30 RPI win.

In the circle, Kenna Wilkey only allowed one run and two hits in 4.0 innings against the Irish. Danielle Williams then came in and pitched 3.0 scoreless innings to secure a save and extend her scoreless inning streak to 32.0-consecutive innings.

The #B1GCats have now won 13 their last 14 games and are now 9-0 in the Big Ten play for the first time since 2009. The 'Cats also clocked in at No. 17 in this week's NCAA Women's Softball RPI rankings, the third-highest mark in the conference.

The Wildcats have held their opponents to under two runs in each of their past six games, including tossing three shutouts to improve their total to 13 on the year, the most in the Big Ten. Northwestern has outscored conference opponents 59-8 this season and boast a .321 batting average as a team while limiting their opponents to a .115 average.

Northwestern's offense has been effective all season at plating runs, with Maeve Nelson and Rachel Lewis leading the team with 28 runs scored apiece. Lewis also leads the team with 11 homers on the year. The sophomore from Liberty Township, Ohio now has 28-career home runs, which puts her four away from passing Adrienne Moka (31, 2009-10) for the most home runs by an NU player in her first two seasons with the program.

Jordyn Rudd's team-high 34 RBI are the seventh-most in the Big Ten and the second-most by a first-year in the conference. She is also tied for sixth in the Big Ten with 12 doubles on the season. Nikki Cuchran leads the team with a .343 batting average to go along with 29 RBI.

Wisconsin is 7-2 in the conference and 30-5 overall. The Badgers are carrying an eight-game winning streak of their own heading into this weekend, most recently sweeping The Wildcats lead the all-time series against the Badgers 34-20.

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