Wildcats Return to Oklahoma City for Last Non-Conference Weekend

Friday, March 17

Oklahoma City, Okla.

1:30 pm CT

Northwestern

#19 Auburn

Wildcats Return to Oklahoma City for Last Non-Conference Weekend

3/15/2023 10:09:00 AM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: GAME INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS
Friday, March 17	#19 Auburn	1:30 pm CT	USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex Oklahoma City, OK	USASoftball.com	Live Stats
Friday, March 17	#1 Oklahoma	6:30 pm CT	USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex Oklahoma City, OK	ESPN+	Live Stats
Saturday, March 18	Weber State	11 am CT	USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex Oklahoma City, OK	USASoftball.com	Live Stats
Saturday, March 18	#19 Auburn	1:30 pm CT	USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex Oklahoma City, OK	USASoftball.com	Live Stats
Sunday, March 19	Weber State	11:30 am CT	USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex Oklahoma City, OK	USASoftball.com	Live Stats
Social: Twitter: @NUSBcats \| Instagram: @NUSBcats

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – After a weekend off, Northwestern Softball is back in action for its last non-conference trip of the regular season. The Wildcats will return to play in USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City for the first time since the 2022 Women's College World Series with another challenging weekend slate that includes three more ranked opponents.

The Wildcats will play a ranked doubleheader against #19 Auburn and the hosts #1 Oklahoma on Friday, another doubleheader against Weber State and Auburn on Saturday, and finally wrap up the weekend with another matchup against Weber State on Sunday.

With three more ranked matchups this weekend, Northwestern will have played 11 of its first 21 games of the season against teams ranked in the Top 25, including five games against teams currently ranked in the Top 5 of the most recent NFCA Coaches Poll: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Clemson (twice) and No. 5 Tennessee.

Last Time Out:
The Wildcats went 3-1 and picked up two more victories over ACC foes while playing in the Cardinal Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. After rain shifted the schedule to back-to-back doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. The 'Cats earned a Saturday sweep with a 5-0 shutout win over Northern Kentucky, followed by a 4-1 win over the hosts Louisville. After a setback against Toledo, the Wildcats bounced back with a convincing 11-1 win over Louisville in the weekend finale.

Kelsey Nader and Grace Nieto led the 'Cats' offense over the weekend, with five hits apiece to go along with two runs scored for each. Jordyn Rudd continued her torrid start to the season, going 4-for-11 with a team-leading six RBI including a double and a home run. Rudd reached base in nine of her 16 plate appearances, good for a team-best .563 on-base percentage as well as a .727 slugging percentage.

Cami Henry tossed a complete game shutout in Northwestern's win over Northern Kentucky, striking out a season-high nine batters while allowing just four hits. Over her last four appearances (22.0 innings pitched), Henry has allowed just one unearned run and 11 hits while striking out 15 batters.

Meanwhile, Danielle Williams tossed a complete game in the weekend finale win over Louisville, allowing just five hits and one unearned run while striking out six. Williams is 2-0 with two saves and holds a 0.43 ERA (1 ER/16.0 IP) over the Wildcats' last two weekends of action. She also sits at 958 career strikeouts, putting her well within range of joining Lisa Ishikawa (1,200), Eileen Canney (1,142), Lauren Delaney (1,130) and Courtnay Foster (1,014) as the only pitchers in program history to reach the 1,000 career strikeouts club.

Look Ahead:
The Wildcats return home on Tuesday, March 21 for Opening Day against UIC, before hosting Minnesota from March 24-26 at Sharon J. Drysdale Field to open Big Ten play.