Friday, May 21
Lexington, KY
11 am CT
Northwestern
29-16
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at
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#14 Kentucky
40-13
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H
E
Northwestern
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6
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Kentucky
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Wildcats Drop Narrow Battle vs Kentucky to Open NCAA Regional
5/21/2021 3:11:00 PM | Softball
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Northwestern opened its stay at the 2021 Lexington Regional with a narrow 3-2 setback to top-seeded Kentucky on Friday Afternoon at John Cropp Stadium.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second as Maeve Nelson connected on the first pitch of the inning for a solo moonshot down the left field line. It marked Nelson's fifth home run of the season as well as the first long ball of her career in the postseason.
Kentucky responded in the bottom of the second as runs scored via an RBI-single up the middle, a controversial obstruction call which resulted in an unearned run and a fielder's choice to bring around a third run and give Kentucky a 3-1 advantage.
Northwestern held Kentucky scoreless for the remainder of the game and threatened with a rally of its own in the top of the seventh inning to cut the deficit at one, however the tying run was stranded at second base.
Nikki Cuchran led NU at the plate today, going 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored. The three hits marked a season high and tied a career high for Cuchran, who is now owns a five game hitting streak.
Also adding to Northwestern's efforts at the plate was Jordyn Rudd who drove a double deep to left-center in the top of the first inning, along with Skyler Shellmyer on a bunt single in the fifth inning.
Danielle Williams made her seventh career postseason start in the circle and allowed just four hits in 6.0 innings while striking out four. The four hits for Kentucky marked its fewest in a regional game since 2017.
Northwestern is back in action in Lexington on Saturday to face the loser of Miami (OH)/Notre Dame in game four of the regional. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 pm CT.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second as Maeve Nelson connected on the first pitch of the inning for a solo moonshot down the left field line. It marked Nelson's fifth home run of the season as well as the first long ball of her career in the postseason.
Kentucky responded in the bottom of the second as runs scored via an RBI-single up the middle, a controversial obstruction call which resulted in an unearned run and a fielder's choice to bring around a third run and give Kentucky a 3-1 advantage.
Northwestern held Kentucky scoreless for the remainder of the game and threatened with a rally of its own in the top of the seventh inning to cut the deficit at one, however the tying run was stranded at second base.
Nikki Cuchran led NU at the plate today, going 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored. The three hits marked a season high and tied a career high for Cuchran, who is now owns a five game hitting streak.
Also adding to Northwestern's efforts at the plate was Jordyn Rudd who drove a double deep to left-center in the top of the first inning, along with Skyler Shellmyer on a bunt single in the fifth inning.
Danielle Williams made her seventh career postseason start in the circle and allowed just four hits in 6.0 innings while striking out four. The four hits for Kentucky marked its fewest in a regional game since 2017.
Northwestern is back in action in Lexington on Saturday to face the loser of Miami (OH)/Notre Dame in game four of the regional. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 pm CT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Autumn Humes (21-7)
L: Williams, Danielle (16-7)
Batting:
2B: Rudd, Jordyn 1 ; Cuchran, Nikki 1
HR: Nelson, Maeve 1
RBI: Nelson, Maeve 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nelson, Maeve 1 ; Cuchran, Nikki 1
SB: Lewis, Rachel 1
Batting:
RBI: Kayla Kowalik 1 ; Rylea Smith 1
SH: Tatum Spangler 1 ; Autumn Humes 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Renee Abernathy 1 ; Autumn Humes 1 ; Rylea Smith 1
CS: Kayla Kowalik 1 ; Lauren Johnson 1
HBP: Renee Abernathy 1 ; Miranda Stoddard 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballC/U
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P/U
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