Wildcats Head to Kajikawa Classic to Open 2020 Season

Friday, February 7

Tempe, AZ

11 a.m. CT

Northwestern

Utah

Wildcats Head to Kajikawa Classic to Open 2020 Season

2/6/2020 9:00:00 AM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: KAJIKAWA CLASSIC INFO
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME (CST)	LOCATION	VIDEO STREAM	Live Stats
Friday, Feb. 7	Utah	11 a.m.	Farrington Field	Pac 12 Network ($)	StatBroadcast
Friday, Feb. 7	Seattle	3:30 p.m.	Tempe Sports Complex Field 2	FloSoftball ($)	StatBroadcast
Saturday, Feb. 8	#12 Tennessee	2:45 p.m.	Tempe Sports Complex Field 1	FloSoftball ($)	Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 8	at #22 Arizona State	8 p.m.	Farrington Field	Pac 12 Network ($)	StatBroadcast
Sunday, Feb. 9	Portland State	10 a.m.	Tempe Sports Complex Field 2	FloSoftball ($)	StatBroadcast
Social: Twitter (@NUSBCats and @NU_Sports) \| Instagram (nusbcats) \| Facebook Tournament Central \| Northwestern Game Notes

Tempe, Ariz. – Northwestern softball opens the 2020 season this weekend with a five-game tournament at the Kajikawa Classic in Arizona. The Wildcats will take on Utah and Seattle on Friday, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 22 Arizona State on Saturday, and conclude on Sunday with a matchup against Portland State.

This marks the team's 13^th appearance at the Kajikawa Classic in the last 15 years, all under reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year Kate Drohan. Northwestern last appeared in the prestigious non-conference tournament to kick off the 2018 season, going 4-1 with dominant 11-3 and 13-5 wins over San Diego State and South Dakota, respectively.

The Wildcats enter the season as the No.14 team in the nation in the preseason NFCA/USA Today coaches poll, the program's highest ranking since 2009. The ranking comes on the heels of a 47-13 campaign in 2019 that saw Northwestern earn a Top-16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and win its fifth NCAA Regional title in program history.

Chicago's Big Ten Team looks poised to continue its success on the diamond, returning 16 letterwinners, tied for the most in the Big Ten, including eight starters, four All-Big Ten honors recipients and the entire pitching staff.

Sophomore Jordyn Rudd returns to the lineup, coming off a year in which the catcher started all 60 games and led first-year catchers nationwide in RBIs with 51. Fellow star sophomore Danielle Williams is back on the mound this season, already being tracked as one of the top 50 on USA Softball's Collegiate Player of the Year watchlist and earning Preseason All-American honors from D1Softball. Williams went 31-8 in the circle last year with a 1.55 ERA (51 ER/230.0 IP) and 317 strikeouts.

The other two All-Big Ten honorees from last year, junior Rachel Lewis and sophomore Maeve Nelson, are also primed for success. Lewis brings 31-career home runs into 2020 and led the Wildcats with a .544 slugging percentage and 43 runs scored, while Nelson was Northwestern's batting leader last year during Big Ten play, hitting .329 with 18 RBI in 23 conference games.

Fans can follow live updates from the Kajikawa Classic all weekend, as well as the Wildcats' entire 2020 season, on Twitter at @NUSBCats.

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