Saturday, May 13
Urbana-Champaign, Ill.
2:30 pm CT
Northwestern
38-11
2
vs
1
Indiana
42-16
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Indiana
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
4
0
Northwestern
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
4
1
CHAMPS! 'Cats Clinch Big Ten Title Sweep With Seventh Inning Rally
5/13/2023 5:43:00 PM | Softball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Northwestern clinched its first Big Ten Tournament title since 2008 with a 2-1 walk-off win over Indiana on Saturday.
The No. 18 Wildcats finish the Big Ten season with a 20-3 record and sit at 38-11 overall. It is the second time in program history that the 'Cats have won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in the same season (also 2008). Excluding the 2021 COVID year, it is the third season in school history that Northwestern has reached 20 conference wins, joining the 1985 and 2019 seasons.
Northwestern is the first Big Ten team to claim both the regular season and tournament championships since Michigan did so in 2019. It is the first Big Ten Tournament to end on a walk-off winner since 2016.
Danielle Williams was superb once again, allowing just one unearned run over a complete game victory. After being named First Team All-Big Ten for the fourth time in her career earlier this week, Williams was named Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament for allowing zero earned runs over 14.0 total innings.
Despite Williams' terrific outing, the 'Cats trailed 1-0 heading into the seventh inning. Jordyn Rudd led off the seventh with a base hit and was pinch ran for by Lauren Sciborski. Grace Nieto laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Sciborski into scoring position. Sciborski moved to third on a Hannah Cady single and came around to score on a wild pitch. Following walks by Nikki Cuchran and Angela Zedak, graduate student Maeve Nelson came to the plate with the bases loaded and the game tied. Nelson capped off her fantastic Big Ten career with a line drive into right-center field to clinch the Big Ten Championship.
Chicago's Big Ten Team will now head to the NCAA Tournament and look to return to the Women's College World Series for the second-consecutive season. The Wildcats are looking to earn a Top-8 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007 (No. 2 national seed) and currently hold a No. 8 ranking in this week's latest NCAA RPI rankings. The NCAA Tournament selection show takes place on Sunday at 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.
The No. 18 Wildcats finish the Big Ten season with a 20-3 record and sit at 38-11 overall. It is the second time in program history that the 'Cats have won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in the same season (also 2008). Excluding the 2021 COVID year, it is the third season in school history that Northwestern has reached 20 conference wins, joining the 1985 and 2019 seasons.
Northwestern is the first Big Ten team to claim both the regular season and tournament championships since Michigan did so in 2019. It is the first Big Ten Tournament to end on a walk-off winner since 2016.
Danielle Williams was superb once again, allowing just one unearned run over a complete game victory. After being named First Team All-Big Ten for the fourth time in her career earlier this week, Williams was named Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament for allowing zero earned runs over 14.0 total innings.
Despite Williams' terrific outing, the 'Cats trailed 1-0 heading into the seventh inning. Jordyn Rudd led off the seventh with a base hit and was pinch ran for by Lauren Sciborski. Grace Nieto laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Sciborski into scoring position. Sciborski moved to third on a Hannah Cady single and came around to score on a wild pitch. Following walks by Nikki Cuchran and Angela Zedak, graduate student Maeve Nelson came to the plate with the bases loaded and the game tied. Nelson capped off her fantastic Big Ten career with a line drive into right-center field to clinch the Big Ten Championship.
Maeve ends it!
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) May 13, 2023
'CATS WIN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT. pic.twitter.com/HqWpV0bLHZ
Chicago's Big Ten Team will now head to the NCAA Tournament and look to return to the Women's College World Series for the second-consecutive season. The Wildcats are looking to earn a Top-8 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007 (No. 2 national seed) and currently hold a No. 8 ranking in this week's latest NCAA RPI rankings. The NCAA Tournament selection show takes place on Sunday at 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Williams, Danielle (19-1)
L: Copeland, Brianna (21-3)
Batting:
2B: Stone, Sarah 1
RBI: Bassett, Cora 1
SH: Benson, Brooke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kettleman, Cassidy 1
HBP: Kern, Taryn 1
Batting:
2B: Robinson, Kansas 1
RBI: Nelson, Maeve 1
SH: Nieto, Grace 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sciborski, Lauren 1 ; Cady, Hannah 1
CS: Lindsey, Ayana 1
HBP: Robinson, Kansas 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
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IF
/ SoftballIF
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IF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
IF/C
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P/U
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballSoftball - Lauren Boyd Tosses Complete Game Shutout, 'Cats Blank Kentucky in NCAA Regional (5/16/25)
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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
