Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
DePaul
Northwestern Returns to Sharon J. Drysdale Field for Homestand
3/18/2024 9:16:00 PM | Softball
EVANSTON, Ill. – After 17 games on the road to open the 2024 season, Northwestern returns home to kick off a six-game homestand at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
The Wildcats will welcome two Chicagoland foes during the week, facing off against DePaul on Tuesday and UIC on Wednesday. First pitch for both games is slated for 3 pm CT, with action also televised on B1G+.
This weekend, the 'Cats kick off conference play with a weekend series vs. Michigan State. Winners of back-to-back Big Ten regular season conference championships, Northwestern will begin its campaign to "three-peat" as Big Ten Championships for the first time since a four-year run from 1984-87 under coach Sharon Drysdale.
Following their series with the Spartans, the 'Cats will host Loyola Chicago on Tuesday, March 26 at 4 pm CT for their final non-conference game of the season.
Northwestern went 14-0 at home last year, extending the Wildcats' winning streak to 24-consecutive victories at Sharon J. Drysdale Field, dating back to April 15 of the 2022 season, which currently sits as the longest active streak in all of Division I Softball. During that streak, 9 of the NU's 24 wins have come by run-rule, and the Wildcats have outscored opponents by a 221-73 margin.
Northwestern is coming off a strong showing this past weekend at the Garnett & Black Invitational hosted by the University of South Carolina, going 3-1 with three-straight wins to close the weekend including two against Top-25 foes (No. 24 Boston U and No. 23 South Carolina).
Following their performance, the 'Cats jumped 27 spots in the latest NCAA RPI rankings up to 38th in the nation, the second-highest mark in the Big Ten. NU currently ranks 33rd in strength of schedule, one of three teams in the conference to rank in the Top 35 nationally.
Ashley Miller turned in another dominant weekend in the circle for Northwestern en route to earning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time in four weeks. Miller made four appearances and earned three wins for the 'Cats, limiting batters to a .130 opposing batting average over 19.2 innings, racking up 20 strikeouts over the weekend. She is the first player in the conference to win multiple Pitcher of the Week honors this season, and the first Wildcat to win multiple honors in a season since Danielle Williams did so four times during her 2022 First-Team All-American campaign.
Pitcher of the Week ???
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) March 18, 2024
Ashley Miller earns @B1Gsoftball honors for the second time this season!#GoCats | #BeRemarkable pic.twitter.com/jJYnDkUKVS
Miller currently leads the conference and ranks 9th in the nation allowing just 3.50 hits per seven innings. Her 0.93 ERA ranks second in the Big Ten and 16th in the nation, and her rate of 8.5 strikeouts per seven innings also ranks second in the conference.
At the plate, Kansas Robinson leads the Wildcats and ranks Top-10 in the conference in both batting average (.411; 6th) and slugging percentage (.696; 6th). The sophomore from Indianapolis is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak and an 18-game reached base streak.
This past weekend, Robinson led the Wildcats with four hits and two runs scored. In the Wildcats' 2-0 win over No. 24 Boston on Saturday, she hit her second-career triple to drive in a run in the sixth inning. One day later, she drove in the eventual game-winning run in the sixth inning of the Wildcats' 4-3 win over South Carolina.
