Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, May 20
Evanston, IL
3:30 pm CT
Northwestern
vs
Oakland
Weekend Look-Ahead: 'Cats Set for NCAA Regional
5/19/2022 9:00:00 AM | Softball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern is set to host its fifth NCAA Regional since 2005 this weekend as it welcomes Notre Dame, Oakland, and McNeese to Evanston.
The Big Ten Champion Wildcats will be making their 20th overall tournament appearance in program history as well as their 15th tournament appearance in the 21-year Drohan era, including their seventh in the past eight tournaments.
The 'Cats are the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, their highest ranking since being the No. 2 seed in 2007 en route to a World Series appearance. The last time the Wildcats hosted an NCAA Regional was 2019, which saw Northwestern capture its first Regional title since 2008 with a pair of Sunday victories over Louisville.
This weekend, Northwestern will look to improve upon its 17-3 record in NCAA Tournament games held at Sharon J. Drysdale Field under the Drohans.
NU is 14-11 all-time against Notre Dame and have faced off against the Irish in the 2005, 2006, and 2015 NCAA Regionals. Northwestern is 4-2 in postseason matchups against Notre Dame. The Wildcats are 2-0 all-time against Oakland, with the only two games coming at the Louisville Invitational in the truncated 2020 season. Northwestern's final game before the 2020 season was canceled was a 14-3 win against Oakland. Northwestern is 0-2 all-time against McNeese, having played one series in 2000.
Big Ten Player of the Year Rachel Lewis is making her fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, where she holds a .390 on-base percentage in 12 career games. The Liberty Township, Ohio native will wrap up her storied collegiate career at the end of the tournament and will look to climb the Northwestern and Big Ten record books in her final games.
Lewis, Northwestern's all-time home run leader, is three home runs from tying Garland Cooper's NU single-season record of 23 homers. She is also one home run from a career total of 63, which would put her in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten record book. Lewis sits in ninth place in program history with 212 career hits. She is one hit from tying for eighth place, three hits from seventh place, and four from sixth place.
Lewis has played 236 games for the Wildcats, fourth most in program history. She is eight games from tying Garland Cooper's record of 244 games played. Her 222 runs scored are second-most in program history. She is 13 runs scored from tying Tammy Williams's program record of 235 runs. Lewis's 222 runs scored is tied for fifth-most in B1G history, she needs to score two more runs to grab sole possession of fourth place on the list.
Last week, five Wildcats were named First Team All-Big Ten, tied for the most in program history. Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Danielle Williams and catcher Jordyn Rudd became the first pitcher-catcher tandem in Big Ten history to earn First Team honors in three consecutive years together. Williams also earned the Big Ten Pitching Triple Crown, leading the conference in ERA (1.53), strikeouts (287), and wins (26), in 201.2 innings pitched during the regular season.
Williams, Northwestern's all-time leader at 9.54 strikeouts per seven innings, is 30 strikeouts from tying her career high of 317 in a season, the fifth-highest single season total in program history. At 78 career wins, is also two victoriess from tying Courtnay Foster for fifth place in the Northwestern record book with 80 career wins.
Nikki Cuchran looks to continue her dominant postseason career. The First Team All-Big Ten first baseman has a career .454 (15-for-33) batting average in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Cuchran went 6-for-9 with a home run and four RBI in three games at the Lexington Regional.
The Big Ten Champion Wildcats will be making their 20th overall tournament appearance in program history as well as their 15th tournament appearance in the 21-year Drohan era, including their seventh in the past eight tournaments.
The 'Cats are the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, their highest ranking since being the No. 2 seed in 2007 en route to a World Series appearance. The last time the Wildcats hosted an NCAA Regional was 2019, which saw Northwestern capture its first Regional title since 2008 with a pair of Sunday victories over Louisville.
This weekend, Northwestern will look to improve upon its 17-3 record in NCAA Tournament games held at Sharon J. Drysdale Field under the Drohans.
NU is 14-11 all-time against Notre Dame and have faced off against the Irish in the 2005, 2006, and 2015 NCAA Regionals. Northwestern is 4-2 in postseason matchups against Notre Dame. The Wildcats are 2-0 all-time against Oakland, with the only two games coming at the Louisville Invitational in the truncated 2020 season. Northwestern's final game before the 2020 season was canceled was a 14-3 win against Oakland. Northwestern is 0-2 all-time against McNeese, having played one series in 2000.
Big Ten Player of the Year Rachel Lewis is making her fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, where she holds a .390 on-base percentage in 12 career games. The Liberty Township, Ohio native will wrap up her storied collegiate career at the end of the tournament and will look to climb the Northwestern and Big Ten record books in her final games.
Lewis, Northwestern's all-time home run leader, is three home runs from tying Garland Cooper's NU single-season record of 23 homers. She is also one home run from a career total of 63, which would put her in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten record book. Lewis sits in ninth place in program history with 212 career hits. She is one hit from tying for eighth place, three hits from seventh place, and four from sixth place.
Lewis has played 236 games for the Wildcats, fourth most in program history. She is eight games from tying Garland Cooper's record of 244 games played. Her 222 runs scored are second-most in program history. She is 13 runs scored from tying Tammy Williams's program record of 235 runs. Lewis's 222 runs scored is tied for fifth-most in B1G history, she needs to score two more runs to grab sole possession of fourth place on the list.
Last week, five Wildcats were named First Team All-Big Ten, tied for the most in program history. Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Danielle Williams and catcher Jordyn Rudd became the first pitcher-catcher tandem in Big Ten history to earn First Team honors in three consecutive years together. Williams also earned the Big Ten Pitching Triple Crown, leading the conference in ERA (1.53), strikeouts (287), and wins (26), in 201.2 innings pitched during the regular season.
Williams, Northwestern's all-time leader at 9.54 strikeouts per seven innings, is 30 strikeouts from tying her career high of 317 in a season, the fifth-highest single season total in program history. At 78 career wins, is also two victoriess from tying Courtnay Foster for fifth place in the Northwestern record book with 80 career wins.
Nikki Cuchran looks to continue her dominant postseason career. The First Team All-Big Ten first baseman has a career .454 (15-for-33) batting average in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Cuchran went 6-for-9 with a home run and four RBI in three games at the Lexington Regional.
Players Mentioned
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