Wildcats Gear Up for NCAA Super Regional at No. 1 Oklahoma

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: NCAA SUPER REGIONAL INFO
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	VIDEO STREAM	RADIO	LIVE STATS
Friday, May 24	at Oklahoma	2 p.m. CT	Marita Hynes Field	ESPN 2	WNUR Sports	NCAA.com
Saturday, May 25	at Oklahoma	3 p.m. CT	Marita Hynes Field	ESPN	WNUR Sports	NCAA.com
Sunday, May 26	at Oklahoma	1 p.m. CT	Marita Hynes Field	ESPN	WNUR Sports	NCAA.com
Social: Twitter (@NUSBCats and @NU_Sports) \| Instagram (nusbcats) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern \| Oklahoma

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern takes on No. 1 seed Oklahoma this weekend in Norman in a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional with a spot in the Women's College World Series on the line.

The Wildcats advanced out of the Evanston Regional last weekend with two wins over Louisville in the regional final on Sunday. It was the eighth regional Northwestern has won in program history.

Junior Morgan Newport had an excellent weekend at the plate during the Regional, going 8-16 with six RBI. Sophomore Kenna Wilkey also posted six RBI, hitting two home runs including a grand slam in just six at-bats.

First year Danielle Williams pitched 23.0 innings over the weekend, going 3-1 with a 1.22 ERA, and tallying 32 strikeouts. Williams now has 31 wins and 310 strikeouts on the season. She was also named as one of three finalists for the NFCA/Schutt National Freshman of the Year Award, as announced on Tuesday.

After the NCAA adopted the Super Regional format starting with the 2005 season, Northwestern advanced to the Super Regional round in four consecutive years from 2005 to 2008. During that duration, the Wildcats went 2-2 with Super Regional wins over Massachusetts in 2006 and South Carolina in 2007.

The Wildcats are hitting .272 as a team behind the plate led by first-year Jordyn Rudd, who is hitting .339. Rudd has been a steady source of production, slugging .554 and batting in 51 runs. Only three other first-years and ten other players have hit for 50 RBI in a season in program history.

The matchup this weekend will feature an elite pitching staff and defense on both sides. The Wildcats rank 13th in the country in earned runs average with a mark of 1.83 and 17th in fielding percentage with a mark of .974. The 'Cats also rank 14th in strikeout to walk ratio with 455 strikeouts to 115 walks.

Oklahoma boasts a 52-3 record heading into this weekend's matchup. The Sooners owned a 41-game winning streak heading into their regional final last weekend, but the streak was snapped by Big Ten counterpart Wisconsin in a 2-1 defeat. The Sooners rebounded to win the elimination game 2-0.

The Sooners hit .359 as a team, and are led by Sydney Romero and Caleigh Clifton, who both sport batting averages over .400 on the year.

Oklahoma has three talented pitchers with over 25 appearances that all sport a sub 1.20 ERA led by junior left hander Giselle "G" Juarez, who owns a 25-1 record and a 1.15 ERA while compiling 218 strikeouts in 146.1 innings.

Since 2016, the Super Regional format has moved to a three-day series instead of a two day series. All three games this weekend will be televised nationally, with the first game on ESPN 2 and the final two on ESPN.

Fans can follow along @NUSBCats on Twitter all weekend long for live updates.

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Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics

Wildcats Gear Up for NCAA Super Regional at No. 1 Oklahoma

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Players Mentioned

Morgan Newport

Jordyn Rudd

Kenna Wilkey

Danielle Williams

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