2016 Softball Roster
Nicole Bond
- Height:
- 5-10
- Class:
- Junior
- High School:
- Clayton
- Hometown:
- Clayton, N.C.
2018: Appeared in 15 games in the circle, making six starts and nine relief appearances ... Big Ten Distinguished Scholar ... Academic All-Big Ten ... Threw three innings of scoreless relief in an eventual extra-inning win against San Diego State (2/9) ... Earned a win against Portland State (3/3) with 4.1 innings of work in a start ... Tossed 3.0 innings of one-run ball against Minnesota after entering with an 8-3 deficit; kept the game close enough to allow the Wildcats to pull off an 11-10 eighth-inning victory (3/24) ... Also got a rare at-bat in that game, laying down a perfect sacrifice bunt ... Had a huge performance against top-25 RPI Nebraska, throwing a complete-game four-hitter in an 8-3 Wildcats victory (3/31) ... Made her final career appearance in the NCAA Athens Regional with an inning of work against No. 7 seed Georgia in a winner’s bracket contest (5/19).
2017: Started 19 games in the circle with four relief appearances ... Academic All-Big Ten ... After missing the majority of 2015 and 2016 due to injury, earned her first victory since 2014 on Opening Day with a complete-game victory over Tulsa (2/10) ... Will return to NU in 2018 ... NU played 11 games against teams ranked in the top-11 in the polls at the time of the game; Bond started in seven of those games ... Tossed three scoreless frames in a start against No. 24 Pittsburgh (2/18) ... Threw a very strong five innings against No. 11 Georgia, but took the loss after allowing just a single run (2/24) ... Picked up a victory in a 4.0 inning start at Saint Mary’s, allowing two hits and a run (3/21) ... Tossed 3.2 innings of scoreless relief against Maryland (4/9), while also picking up two rare at-bats at the plate—including recording her first-collegiate base hit ... Was a hard-luck loser at No. 6 Minnesota after throwing a complete-game two-hitter on April 15 in a 3-2 Wildcats defeat ... Allowed just one earned run in a five-inning outing to defeat Purdue (4/21) ... Chucked a complete-game victory against Illinois, scattering six hits and three runs in a 4-3 win (5/3) ... Went toe-to-toe with Minnesota All-American Sara Groenewegen in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, keeping the Wildcats within a pair of runs until the No. 2 Gophers broke through in the bottom of the sixth.
2016: Appeared in 14 games with three starts and 11 relief appearances ... Academic All-Big Ten ... Made her first start since 2014 in her home state, going 3.1 innings in an eventual win at North Carolina (2/20) ... Entered a bases-loaded situation with one out in relief against No. 22 Fresno State (3/4), escaping the threat and stranding all three inherited runners ... Entered a game at No. 2 Michigan in the seventh inning with the tying run at second base and stranded her at third to preserve a 13-12 Northwestern win and earn a save (3/25).
2015: Did not see action in 2015 due to injury ... NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete.
2014: Appeared in 19 games, starting 11 times and appearing in relief eight times ... Tossed two innings of relief in a 13-2 (5) run-rule victory over Boise State (2/8) in her first-collegiate outing ... First-career start came in an eventual 10-3 win over George Washington (2/15) ... Earned her first-career win in style, tossing a two-hit shutout against Western Michigan with six strikeouts in just her second-career start ... Gave up just a fourth-inning bunt single and a seventh-inning seeing-eye single to left in that game (3/8) ... Held Wisconsin scoreless through the first six innings of an eventual no-decision start (3/22) ... Picked up a win with four innings of work against UIC (4/2) ... Had another complete-game gem at Iowa (4/5), scattering five hits and two walk while holding the Hawkeyes to just a single run in a 4-1 NU win ... Struck out a then-season-best eight batters including four in the first inning of a complete-game win against Indiana (4/19) ... Allowed only two baserunners on a second-inning single and a sixth-inning HBP while firing a one-hit shutout with a season-high nine strikeouts in a 9-0 (6) Big Ten win at Illinois (4/22) ... Matched her season-high with nine strikeouts in a 6.0 inning complete-game, 9-1 run-rule win over Michigan State (5/3) ... Threw 2.2 scoreless, hitless innings of relief with four strikeouts to earn the win over Michigan State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament (5/8).
High School: Four-time All-Greater Neuse River Conference selection and three-time North Carolina 4A All-State choice (2011-13) ... As a senior, earned all-conference, all-district, all-state and all-academic honors along with being named the Greater Neuse River Conference, 4a District and 4a Eastern Pitcher of the Year ... In the two years prior to her arrival in 2010, Clayton High School softball had a combined 1-45 overall record ... Has since qualified for the North Carolina 4A state playoffs in each of Bond's three years, including a final four appearance in 2011 ... Wove a no-hitter against a conference rival in the third round of the 2011 North Carolina 4A state playoffs ... Totaled more than 600 strikeouts in the circle during her first three years of high school competition ... Has competed for two years with the Carolina Elite-Genovese club team ... In 2012 with the Carolina Elite, compiled a 0.87 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP, a .125 opponent's batting average and 7.64 strikeouts per seven innings rate while batting .432 offensively ... Club finished 17th at the 16U ASA Nationals in 2011 and qualified for the 18U Premier Nationals in 2012 ... Also competed in volleyball at the high school level, lettering three times and earning two All-Conference awards.
Personal: Born Nicole Kathryn Bond ... Daughter of Chris and Lisa Bond ... Chose Northwestern over South Carolina, North Carolina, Iowa, Michigan State, South Alabama, UIC and Campbell ... Graduated with a degree in economics, and now is pursuing a master's degree in integrated marketing communications.
