Northwestern Heads to Tuscaloosa Super Regional

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: GAME INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS
Friday, May 26	Alabama	7 p.m. CT	Rhoads Stadium Tuscaloosa, Ala.	ESPN2	Live Stats
Saturday, May 27	Alabama	8 p.m. CT	Rhoads Stadium Tuscaloosa, Ala.	ESPN	Live Stats
Sunday, May 28 (if necessary)	Alabama	TBD	Rhoads Stadium Tuscaloosa, Ala.	TBD	Live Stats
Social: Twitter: @NUSBcats \| Instagram: @NUSBcats

EVANSTON, Ill. – The 12^th-seeded Northwestern Wildcats are headed to the Tuscaloosa Super Regional to take on No. 5 Alabama, looking to earn a trip back to the Women's College World Series for a second-straight season and the seventh time in program history.

The 'Cats return to the Super Regionals for the second-consecutive season and seventh time in program history, all under the Drohans. Northwestern defeated Arizona State in the Tempe Super Regional last season to advance to its sixth Women's College World Series.

The Wildcats went 3-0 to sweep the Evanston Regional for the second-straight year, capped off by a thrilling 5-4 win over Miami (Ohio). Danielle Williams earned the win in her final game at Drysdale Field and prevented the RedHawks from bringing home the tying run in the seventh inning after loading the bases with no outs. Williams, NU's all-time wins leader, recorded the victory in all three games of the Regional, posting 22 strikeouts and a 2.57 ERA in 16.1 innings.

Northwestern will once again lean on the veteran leadership of its fifth-years in the Super Regional. The group has reached all four NCAA Tournaments during their tenure and have advanced to the Super Regionals three times. They join the Wildcat classes of '87, '06, '07, '08, and '09 as the only classes in school history to reach four NCAA Tournaments.

Catcher Jordyn Rudd led the Wildcats with a .600 batting average (6-for-10) and a 1.736 OPS in the Evanston Regional. Rudd, a career .394 hitter in the NCAA Tournament, dominated the 2022 Tempe Super Regional with a .643 average (9-for-14) and 1.500 OPS.

Shortstop Maeve Nelson is riding a 13-game on-base streak during which she has hit .400 (14-for-35) with a 1.219 OPS. In last year's Super Regional, Nelson posted a .500 average and 1.243 OPS. The River Forest, Ill. native has tallied a career .447 on-base percentage in the NCAA Tournament.

Skyler Shellmyer raised her career NCAA Tournament batting average to .343 (23-for-67) with five hits in the Evanston Regional, while First Team All-Big Ten selection Nikki Cuchran launched a game-tying home run in the fourth inning of Sunday's clincher against Miami (OH).

First-year Kansas Robinson continued her breakout season with three home runs and five RBI in the Evanston Regional. Robinson, an All-Freshman Team selection in the Big Ten, leads the Wildcats with a 1.081 OPS this season.

Northwestern is 2-4 against Alabama in program history, last squaring off against the Crimson Tide on March 4, 2018, at the Husky Classic in Seattle. Morgan Newport fired a three-hit shutout and Rachel Lewis launched a three-run homer to grab a 4-0 win. This is Alabama's 17^th Super Regional appearance in the last 18 NCAA Tournaments, only failing to win their Regional in 2022.

The only other time Northwestern and Alabama faced off in the postseason was June 1, 2006 in what marked the first Women's College World Series game of the Drohan's careers and saw NU claim a 6-5 win in 10 innings. Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the 7th that game, No. 4 Northwestern was down to its final strike before then-first-year Erin Dyer hit a game-tying home run. Tammy Williams walked off the game with an RBI-single in the bottom of the 10th.

Northwestern Heads to Tuscaloosa Super Regional

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Players Mentioned

Nikki Cuchran

Rachel Lewis

Maeve Nelson

Kansas Robinson

Jordyn Rudd

Skyler Shellmyer

Danielle Williams

Northwestern University Athletics