Wildcats Welcome Purdue for Senior Weekend

4/18/2019 12:38:00 PM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: GAME-DAY INFO
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	VIDEO STREAM	LIVE STATS
Friday, Apr. 19	Purdue	4 p.m. CT	Sharon J. Drysdale Field	BTN Plus	Sidearm
Saturday, Apr. 20	Purdue	1 p.m. CT	Sharon J. Drysdale Field	BTN Plus	Sidearm
Sunday, Apr. 21	Purdue	4 p.m. CT	Sharon J. Drysdale Field	Big Ten Network	Sidearm
Social: Twitter (@NUSBCats and @NU_Sports) \| Instagram (nusbcats) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Currently riding an 11-game winning streak and four-consecutive weekend sweeps against Big Ten opponents, the red-hot Wildcats welcome Purdue for a three-game series at Sharon J. Drysdale Field beginning on Friday, March 22 at 4 p.m. CT.

Saturday, March 23 includes two special Northwestern events, starting with game two of the series which begins at 1 p.m. CT, followed by the 13th-annual PURPLE AUCTION taking place taking place next door at the Wilson Club inside the newly renovated Welsh Ryan Arena for dinner, an open bar and a silent auction. Fans looking to attend the auction can register online HERE.

Northwestern seniors Morgan Nelson and Lily Novak will be honored during the auction festivities, as well as before the 'Cats Senior Day game against Purdue on Sunday, April 21 beginning at 4 p.m. CT. Both Friday and Saturday's games will be streamed live via BTN Plus on BTN2Go, while Sunday's game will be broadcasted nationally on Big Ten Network.

At 33-7 on the season, the Wildcats are off to their best start in the Drohan-era and currently sit atop the Big Ten, entering this weekend with a perfect 12-0 record. This week, Northwestern clocked in at No. 23 in the most recent USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll, along with No. 12 the the NCAA Women's Softball RPI rankings, the second-highest mark in the conference.

On Thursday Danielle Williams was announced as a Top 25 candidate for the Schutt Sports/NFCA National Freshman of the Year Award, marking the second-consecutive season an NU player has been named a Top 25 finalist for the honor (Rachel Lewis in 2018). Entering this weekend, Williams holds a 21-3 record in 28 appearances (21 starts). Her 1.16 ERA (25 ER/151.1 IP), .163 opposing batting average and 202 strikeouts lead all Big Ten pitchers, while her 10 shutouts on the season are tied for the second-most in the country and are already the most by a #B1GCats rookie since 1984.

Rachel Lewis has been on a tear of late, hitting .321 (17-for-53) with 12 extra-base hits and an .887 slugging percentage over the Wildcats' last five weeks of action. Entering this weekend, she leads all Big Ten players with seven home runs in conference play. The sophomore from Liberty Township, Ohio now has 30-career homers, which puts her two 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.

Northwestern is the only team in the conference to have multiple first-years with 25+ RBI–Jordyn Rudd leads the team with 35 RBI, while Nikki Cuchran is right behind her with 29 of her own. Cuchran and Rudd also have the two-highest batting averages on the team, hitting .336 and .325, respectively.

Throughout the lineup, the #B1GCats batters have excelled at getting on base. Morgan Newport currently enters the weekend with a 17-game reached base streak, the longest of her career, while Morgan Nelson has reached base in 14-consecutive games, marking her longest streak since her rookie campaign in 2016 (20-straight games).

Purdue is 6-8 in the conference and 30-17 overall. On Tuesday, the Boilermakers rolled to an emphatic 10-1 run-rule victory over Notre Dame in five innings. Northwestern leads the all-time series against Purdue, 42-18.