First Place Wildcats Ready for Weekend Series at Nebraska

Friday, April 26

Lincoln, Neb.

5:30 p.m. CT

Northwestern

Nebraska

Photo by: Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics

First Place Wildcats Ready for Weekend Series at Nebraska

4/25/2024 7:23:00 PM | Softball

LINCOLN, Neb. – Winners of 21 of the last 23 games, Northwestern hits the road this weekend for its penultimate Big Ten series as the Wildcats take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a three-game series at Bowlin Stadium.

The Wildcats and Cornhuskers will face off at 5:30 pm CT on Friday, followed by a 1:30 pm CT matinee on Saturday and an 11 am CT meeting in Sunday's series finale. All three games will be streamed on B1G+.

Northwestern is 15-2 in Big Ten play this season, holding a one-game lead over Michigan (14-3) in the Big Ten standings with six games remaining. Winners of back-to-back conference championships in 2022 and 2023, the Wildcats are looking to three peat as Big Ten Champions for the first time since a four-year run from 1984-87 under legendary coach Sharon Drysdale.

The Wildcats have won 14-straight Big Ten series (6-0 this year + all eight series last season), marking the longest Big Ten series winning streak in school history. Northwestern is 54-9 (.857 win%) in Big Ten play since the start of the 2022 season, the highest mark in the conference with the next closest team being Nebraska at .656%.

On Monday, Ashley Miller was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for the second-consecutive week and fourth time this season after going 3-0 in four appearances with no earned runs allowed over 18.2 total innings pitched, limiting opposing batters to a .148 batting average and just nine total hits while striking out 22. Miller's four Big Ten Pitcher of the Week awards won this season are the most by any Big Ten pitcher this season, and tied for the most by a Northwestern player in a single-season (last done by Danielle Williams during her First-Team All-American campaign in 2022). Miller currently leads the Big Ten and ranks 11th in the nation in both earned run average (1.14) and hits allowed per seven innings (3.97).

Bridget Donahey turned in a banner performance in Northwestern's four games last week, hitting three home runs and a team-high six RBI in four games while also leading the 'Cats in slugging percentage (1.500) and on-base percentage (.545) throughout the week. After hitting a two-run home run in a 4-1 win over Illinois on Tuesday, Donahey recorded the first multi-home run game of her career on Friday at Purdue, going 2-for-2 with four RBI of a pair of two-run homers in a 9-0 run-rule win over the Boilermakers. Donahey currently ranks sixth in the conference in on-base percentage (.487) and leads all Big Ten players in walks per game (0.79).

First-year catcher Emma Raye hit .300 for Northwestern in four games last week, scoring three runs while recording a .462 on-base percentage and a .700 slugging percentage. Raye went 2-for-2 with a home run, a double, two RBI and two runs scored in a 4-1 win over Illinois on Tuesday. That same game in the field, she threw out three Illini runners at second base. Raye now ranks third among all Big Ten catchers with 10 runners caught stealing on the season.

Ayana Lindsey is red hot for the Wildcats since conference play kicked off last month. The junior center fielder currently boasts a 12-game reached base streak, the longest of her career, and is hitting .342 (13-for-38) with 13 runs scored and a .490 on-base percentage to go along with a .990 OPS in 17 Big Ten games.

Following their trip to Lincoln, the Wildcats return to Evanston next weekend to wrap up the regular season with a series vs. the Indiana Hoosiers that will feature Alumni Day on Saturday and Senior Day on Sunday. Secure your tickets today!