Northwestern
43-10
McNeese
40-21
Northwestern Takes Home NCAA Regional Title
5/22/2022 6:25:00 PM | Softball
EVANSTON, Ill. – With a sold out crowd behind them, Northwestern softball cruised to a NCAA Regional Championship title with a 10-2 win over McNeese.
"It's awesome–and I'm feeling a little emotional about it–because our team deserves it," Kate Drohan said of the crowd. "Our team works really hard and they're fun to watch and I'm so, so excited about the way our community has supported this group of women."
With 1,120 fans in attendance, it was standing room only at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
"It's awesome to have that kind of support behind us. It just makes the big moments feel even bigger," said Rachel Lewis. "It's just a really cool feeling, you get the chills. It's awesome to have that kind of support at the J."
The sea of fans in purple were cheering nearly the entire game, as the 'Cats took an early 1-0 advantage in the first inning and never looked back.
Jordyn Rudd broke the game open in the third inning, sending a double through the center field to score Skyler Shellmyer and Lewis. Both Rudd (2-of-2) and Shellmyer (3-of-3) were dominant at the plate.
However, Lewis and Angela Zedak headlined the Wildcat lineup with home runs in the fourth inning. Lewis knocked out a three-run homer to open the fourth inning, her first career home run in the postseason and her first since April.
Zedak followed with a two-run homer of her own that landed on the roof of Welsh-Ryan Arena, making her the 10th different Wildcat to join the prestigious Welsh-Ryan Arena "Roof Club."
"It feels great. I get to be in the Roof Club with one of my inspirations, Rachel Lewis, and Maeve [Nelson]. It's pretty cool, it's a pretty great feeling," said Zedak with a smile.
Danielle Williams held down the Northwestern defense, earning her 300th strikeout of the season in the first inning. She retired four more to bring her total to five on the day.
"She [Williams] is amazing to play behind. She starts in the circle and radiates her confidence and her competitiveness to everyone around her," said Zedak. "It's great to play behind her and do everything we can for her."
With their 3-0 performance this weekend, Northwestern advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals next weekend.
"This is a great next step for us, but I think this team feels very, very hungry. I think already, right now, we're looking ahead," said Drohan when asked about winning another regional title.
"You celebrate this for an hour, you enjoy it at dinner and before you go to bed you're on to the next. I think our team really understands that and their maturity will shine, in terms of staying really steady through this and getting ready for our next opportunity."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Williams, Danielle (29-4)
L: Tate, Whitney (13-10)
Batting:
2B: Talley, Kendall 1 ; Lopez, Kaylee 1
RBI: Lopez, Kaylee 1 ; Perrin, Toni 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Talley, Kendall 1 ; Seneca, Alayis 1
HBP: Steczo, Tiffany 1 ; Gomez, Chloe 1
Batting:
2B: Shellmyer, Skyler 1 ; Rudd, Jordyn 1
HR: Lewis, Rachel 1 ; Zedak, Angela 1
RBI: Lewis, Rachel 3 ; Rudd, Jordyn 2 ; Nelson, Maeve 1 ; Cuchran, Nikki 1 ; Zedak, Angela 2 ; Supple, Sydney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Shellmyer, Skyler 2 ; Lewis, Rachel 3 ; Farnam, Emmie 1 ; Nelson, Maeve 1 ; Zedak, Angela 2 ; Nieto, Grace 1
SB: Shellmyer, Skyler 1 ; Lewis, Rachel 1
HBP: Cady, Hannah 1
