Friday, February 24
Cathedral City, Calif.
2:30 pm CT
Northwestern
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#22 Oregon
9-3
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7
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Oregon
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Northwestern
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Photo by: Kelly Nieto
'Cats Continue Non-Conference Slate in Louisville
3/2/2023 11:35:00 AM | Softball
| NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: GAME INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | WATCH | LIVE STATS |
| Saturday, March 4 | Northern Kentucky | 2 pm CT | Ulmer Stadium Louisville, KY |
FloSoftball | Live Stats |
| Saturday, March 4 | Louisville | 4:30 pm CT | Ulmer Stadium Louisville, KY |
ACC Network Extra | Live Stats |
| Sunday, March 5 | Toledo | 11:30 am CT | Ulmer Stadium Louisville, KY |
FloSoftball | Live Stats |
| Sunday, March 5 | Louisville | 2 pm CT | Ulmer Stadium Louisville, KY |
ACC Network Extra | Live Stats |
| Social: Twitter: @NUSBcats | Instagram: @NUSBcats | |||||
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After a 2-2 showing at last weekend's Mary Nutter Classic, Northwestern Softball is set to continue its non-conference slate with four games in Louisville, Kentucky for the Cardinal Classic hosted by the University of Louisville.
Rain in the forecast on Friday has shifted the weekend schedule, with the Wildcats now playing doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday. The 'Cats will face the hosts Louisville twice on ACC Network Extra and play single games against Northern Kentucky and Toledo which will be broadcast on FloSoftball.
Playing in the nation's most prestigious non-conference tournament–the Mary Nutter Classic–last weekend, Northwestern continued its non-conference gauntlet with three of its four games coming against ranked opponents. The Wildcats dropped narrow 2-1 defeats to No. 22 Oregon on Friday and No. 1 UCLA on Saturday, before bouncing back to win its last two games of the weekend in 9-3 fashion over No. 18 Kentucky an 2-1 over San Diego in the Sunday finale.
The 'Cats' pitching staff turned in four masterful performances in the circle at the Nutter Classic as all four pitchers (Lauren Boyd, Sydney Supple, Cami Henry and Danielle Williams) combined for a 1.04 ERA (4 ER/27.0 IP), with no pitcher allowing more than two earned runs. Lauren Boyd started the Wildcats off with a complete game effort against Oregon in which she allowed just two earned runs while striking out five. The next game, Sydney Supple allowed just one earned run in 4.0 innings of worked against the nation's then-top-ranked team, UCLA. Cami Henry relieved Supple against the Bruins and tossed 2.0 scoreless innings to help keep the 'Cats within striking distance.
Reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Danielle Williams earned her first complete game of the season in Northwestern's convincing 9-3 win over No. 18 Kentucky on Saturday evening. Williams allowed just one earned run in the seventh inning while striking out seven. It marks the 74th complete game of Williams' career, the sixth-most in program history, as well as her 84th career win (fourth all-time in NU history). Additionally, Williams also sits at 951 career strikeouts, putting her just 49 away from 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.
Cami Henry earned her team-leading third win of the season in the Sunday finale vs. San Diego, allowing just one unearned run and three hits in 6.0 innings of work in a 2-1 win before Williams entered to secure a save.
At the plate, Northwestern was led by Grace Nieto and Skyler Shellmyer, who each finished with five hits apiece. Jordyn Rudd blasted two solo home runs in back-to-back games against Oregon and UCLA, finishing the weekend with a team-leading four RBI. Meanwhile, Angela Zedak hit her team-leading third homer of the season as the eventual game-winning hit in the Wildcats' win over San Diego. Rudd and Zedak are tied for the team lead with nine RBI each entering the weekend.
Northwestern now sits at No. 22 in the latest NFCA Coaching Poll. Currently, eight of the Wildcats 12 games this season have come against teams that sit in the Top 25–as UCLA is ranked No. 2, Clemson at No. 4, Tennessee at No. 7, Texas at No. 9, Kentucky at No 17, Oregon at No. 20 and Missouri at No. 24.
Know Your Opponent:
Northwestern is 2-0 all-time against Northern Kentucky, with both games coming last season in the Wildcats' trip to the Southern Illinois Invitational. The Wildcats defeated the Norse, 8-0, in six innings behind a one-hit shutout from Lauren Boyd then followed that up two days later by winning 7-2 with Danielle Williams pitching a complete game while striking out 11. New to the NKU Softball staff this season is Wildcat great Morgan Newport, who played from Northwestern from 2017-21 as a pitcher/utility player before joining the 'Cats' coaching staff as a graduate assistant coach during Northwestern's 2022 Big Ten Championship and Women's College World Series campaign. A 2021 All-Big Ten honoree, Newport started 178 career games with the Wildcats while hitting .282 with 94 RBI, 17 homers and 69 runs scored to go along with over 300 innings pitched in the circle, 206 career strikeouts and 27 career wins as a pitcher.
Northwestern is 3-3 all-time against Toledo, with the most recent meeting coming in 2019 in an 11-2 'Cats win in a game that then-first-year Nikki Cuchran hit a three-run homer.
Northwestern is 8-6 all-time against Louisville. The last meeting between the programs came in 2020 just five days before the cancelation of the remainder of the season, with Louisville claiming a 3-1 win. Most notable in the programs' recent history against one another was the 2019 season, which saw the teams match up six different times in one season. Northwestern went 5-1 in those 2019 matchups, including a pair of wins on the Sunday of the Evanston Regional to punch the 'Cats ticket to a Super Regional.
Following its trip to Louisville, Northwestern will have a week off before returning to action at the Omni Hall of Fame Classic from March 17-19 in Oklahoma City. 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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hansen, Stevie (5-2)
L: Boyd, Lauren (1-2)
Batting:
RBI: McGowan, Terra 1 ; Bunker, Allee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Delgado, Hanna 1 ; Morris, Kyla 1
SB: Morris, Kyla 1
Batting:
HR: Rudd, Jordyn 1
RBI: Rudd, Jordyn 1
SH: Nader, Kelsey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rudd, Jordyn 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P/IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
P/U
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballSoftball - Lauren Boyd Tosses Complete Game Shutout, 'Cats Blank Kentucky in NCAA Regional (5/16/25)
Friday, May 16
Softball - 'Cats Storm Back, Secure Series Victory at No. 8 UCLA (5/4/25)
Sunday, May 04
Softball - 'Cats Earn 8-0 Run-Rule Win at No. 8 UCLA (5/2/25)
Saturday, May 03
Softball - Kaylie Avvisato Hits Walk-Off Home Run, 'Cats Take Series vs. Wisconsin (4/27/25)
Sunday, April 27
