Wildcats Head to Wisconsin For Weekend Series

Friday, April 14

Madison, Wis.

5 pm CT

Northwestern

Wisconsin

Photo by: Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics

Wildcats Head to Wisconsin For Weekend Series

4/13/2023 7:21:00 PM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: GAME INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS
Friday, April 14	Wisconsin	5 pm CT	Goodman Diamond Madison, Wisc.	B1G+	Live Stats
Saturday, April 15	Wisconsin	12 pm CT	Goodman Diamond Madison, Wisc.	B1G+	Live Stats
Sunday, April 16	Wisconsin	11 am CT	Goodman Diamond Madison, Wisc.	ESPN2	Live Stats
Social: Twitter: @NUSBcats \| Instagram: @NUSBcats

MADISON, Wisc. – Fresh off an unbeaten four-game homestand, Northwestern (25-9, 10-1 Big Ten) hits the road for a pivotal Big Ten series with three games at Wisconsin (22-11, 7-2 Big Ten).

The Wildcats currently sit atop the Big Ten standings at 10-1 on the season, one game ahead of Indiana (9-2) and three ahead of the third place Badgers (7-2). The weekend series kicks off with a Friday night showdown followed by a Saturday matinee, both of which will be streamed live on B1G+, before wrapping up the weekend on Sunday at 11 am CT live on ESPN2.

Northwestern won its fifth-straight game on Wednesday with a 6-1 victory over in-state foe Illinois to complete a series sweep over the Fighting Illini. The win comes on the heels of a three-game series sweep over Penn State this past weekend. Following its successful homestand, Northwestern extended its home winning streak at Sharon J. Drysdale Field to 17-consecutive games, dating back to April 15 of the 2022 season. During that streak, eight of the NU's 17 wins have come by run-rule, and the Wildcats have outscored opponents, 164-42.

Danielle Williams earned the win in the circle on Wednesday, improving her record to 9-1 on the season after entering in relief with the bases loaded and allowing just one hit in 3.1 scoreless innings pitched while striking out six of the 11 batters she faced. Williams is Northwestern's all-time leader with 9.31 strikeouts per seven innings (K/7). It also marked the 92^nd career win in Williams' career, moving her within five wins from tying Eileen Canney (2004-07) and Lisa Ishikawa (1984-87) for the program record of 97 career wins.

Williams' 78 career complete games are the third-most among active NCAA pitchers and one away from tying Courtnay Foster (2003-06) for the fifth-most in program history. With 777.2 career innings pitched (second among active NCAA pitchers), she is also poised to pass Foster (778.1) for fifth all-time in program history in her next start.

Jordyn Rudd led Northwestern at the plate last week with six hits and two home runs to go along with six RBI in four games. Rudd recorded a hit in each of Northwestern's four games, including a two-run home run to help jumpstart Northwestern's 24-6 win over the Nittany Lions on Saturday, marking the most runs scored in program history and the second-most ever in a Big Ten conference game, as well as a walk-off grand slam with Northwestern trailing, 2-1, in the bottom of the seventh inning in Sunday's 5-2 victory to secure a series sweep. The hit marked Rudd's second walk-off home run of the season (also did so vs. Auburn on March 18).

Another Wildcat to watch at the plate is Kansas Robinson, who is hitting .375 (12-for-37) with a .422 on-base percentage and .595 slugging in her past 13 games. Robinson was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week last week after posting a .455 batting average (5-for-11), 1.000 slugging percentage and .538 on-base percentage in a 4-0 week against Illinois and Penn State.

The 1-2 punch of Nikki Cuchran and Angela Zedak proved effective in Northwestern's win over Illinois on Wednesday, with each driving in a pair of back-to-back RBI to cap off a five-run fourth inning for the Wildcats. Cuchran currently leads all Big Ten with 19 hits, a .576 batting average, and a .650 on-base percentage in conference play. After Cuchran, Zedak has hit safely in nine-straight games, hitting .419 with five home runs and 17 RBI over the nine games. Zedak is on pace to set new career-highs in nearly every category, including batting average (.320), on-base percentage (.405), and slugging percentage (.619).