Wildcats Head to Auburn for Weekend Tournament

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Northwestern continues its non-conference play to open the 2024 season with four games played at Auburn University, including a pair of Top-25 matchups against the No. 25 ranked Tigers.

The Wildcats will open the weekend with a matchup at No. 25 Auburn at 5 pm CT. The 'Cats are slated for a doubleheader on Saturday vs. North Texas (9am CT) a second meeting against the hosts, Auburn, (3 pm CT) before closing the weekend with a rematch vs. North Texas on Sunday at 9 am CT.

Friday's game vs. No. 25 Auburn will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Fans can follow along the rest of the weekend with live updates on the Northwestern Softball Twitter feed (@NUSBCats)

Mary Nutter Classic Recap

Northwestern earned a split at the Mary Nutter Classic, picking up a pair of victories to close the weekend with a 2-2 record. After narrow losses to No. 19 UCLA (1-0) and LMU (2-0), the Wildcats picked up a 9-8 win over San Diego followed by a 4-0 shutout win over Oregon State.

Leading the way for the 'Cats in the circle was Ashley Miller, who appeared in all four games for the Wildcats, making two starts, and allowed just one run in 17.0 innings pitched (0.41 ERA) while holding opposing batters to just a .143 batting average. Miller was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Monday for the second time in her career.

Miller opened the weekend by tossing six innings and allowed just four hits and one run while striking out six as the Wildcats dropped a narrow 1-0 pitcher's duel to No. 19 UCLA on Friday. In her next start on Sunday vs. Oregon State, Miller leveled up her game by tossing a one-hit shutout and striking out nine en route to her second complete game shutout of the season. The graduate transfer from Leo, Indiana carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning against the Beavers before allowing a leadoff double, and ultimately retired 21 of the 23 batters she faced.

At the plate, Kansas Robinson led the Wildcats with four hits and a .364 batting average in 11 at-bats, recording two RBI. Robinson has reached base in each of the Wildcats' 11 games this season, and currently sits seventh in the Big Ten with a .438 batting average on the year, second on the team behind only Angela Zedak (.444; fourth in Big Ten).

Continuing her breakout sophomore campaign last weekend was Bridget Donahey, who homered in each of the Wildcats' two wins, hitting a solo shot in the first inning vs. San Diego followed by another solo home run in the second inning vs. Oregon State. Donahey also hit a double vs. UCLA and finished the weekend with a team-leading .909 slugging percentage. Donahey now sits third on the team among qualified players with a .680 slugging percentage on the year, while her .441 on-base percentage ranks fourth.

Keeping Up with the 'Cats

Angela Zedak walked a total of four times last weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic and currently leads the Big Ten and ranks 11th in the nation with a .634 on-base percentage. With 10 walks in 11 games (0.91 walks per game), Zedak also leads the conference in walks/game while also posting a team-leading .778 slugging percentage (fifth-highest in the Big Ten).

Following Zedak's act, as a team Northwestern currently leads the Big Ten and ranks 22nd in the nation with a .426 on-base percentage–a mark that would rank second in program history (.432 in 2014) if the season ended today.

With a 0.89 ERA (4 ER/31.1 IP), Ashley Miller currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten and Top-50 in the nation in ERA. She also ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 38 strikeouts, and third among all conference pitchers with a 8.5 strikeouts/seven innings ratio. After only allowing eight hits across the entire weekend, Ashley Miller's hits allowed per seven innings is down to 4.02 which ranks second in the Big Ten.

Kelsey Nader continued her strong scoring season with two more runs scored on the weekend. Starting every game for the 'Cats as their leadoff hitter, Nader is averaging 1.18 runs per game (13 on the season), the second-most among all conference hitters.

Hannah Cady has been a huge contributor in the middle of the Wildcats' order, driving in a team-leading 14 RBI on the year. Her 1.27 runs batted in per game rank second in the Big Ten, and the senior infielder also ranks among the toughest players in the country to strike out, with just one strikeout in 32 at-bats so far this season.

Three Wildcat starters currently have an .OPS of over 1.000, led by Zedak with a team-high 1.412 OPS. Robinson sits second on the team behind only Zedak in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage, good for a 1.256 OPS. Donahey also currently boasts a 1.121 OPS.

Know Your Opponents

Northwestern is 3-1 all-time vs. Auburn, having swept the Tigers last season in a pair of matchups at the Omni Hall of Fame Classic at Oklahoma City. The 'Cats were powered by a complete game gem from Danielle Williams in the fist game, winning 2-1 in the Friday matchup, before securing a dramatic 6-5 comeback win in the second meeting on Saturday, March 19 thanks to a two-run walk-off home run by Jordyn Rudd. This marks the first-ever meeting between Northwestern and Auburn played at either team's home venue.

The Wildcats are 2-0 all-time against North Texas, with the wins coming in an 8-4 victory at the 2011 Kajikawa Classic and an 8-1 victory in 2020 when playing the Mean Green in Norman at the Oklahoma Invitational.