May 19, 2005
Northwestern NCAA Regional Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
2005 NCAA Softball Tournament Bracket in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the third-consecutive year and the eighth time in program history, Northwestern will participate in the NCAA Tournament. This season, the Wildcats are the No. 9 overall seed in the entire 64-team bracket -- the best seeding in school history.
NU, which finished second in the Big Ten, will face three conference champions in its region. The Wildcats' opening opponent, Albany, captured its first America East championship, while Notre Dame (Big East) and Louisville (C-USA) were also league champs.
The winner of the double-elimination regional will advance to a best two-out-of-three Super Regional for the right to move on to the Women's College World Series.
Northwestern has faced 19 of the teams in this year's NCAA Tournament, compiling a 15-10 overall record in those games. NU played eight games versus seeded teams, going 4-4 with wins over Pac-10 schools California, Stanford (twice) and Washington.
Alltime in the NCAA Tournament, NU is 15-15. The Wildcats have made the Women's College World Series three times, with a third-place finish in 1984 ranking as their best effort. No other Big Ten school has ever finished higher.
For Northwestern's complete game notes, Regional bracket and statistics heading into the NCAA's Ninth Regional hosted by Note Dame, please click on the .pdf link at the top of this page. A complete Tournament bracket is also available.
SCOUTING THE NINTH REGIONAL
Albany (35-12), 1st, America East Conference
The Great Danes won their first-ever America East Conference championship
with a 4-0 victory over Stony Brook on May 14. They set a single-season
record for victories and also captured the conference regular season
title. Amanda Morin, the America East Pitcher of the Year, has a 16-2
record with a 0.74 ERA and eight shutouts. Casey Halloran has a 16-5
record with a 2.13 ERA. Kelly Ogden, an all-league third baseman, is hitting .355 with 11 home runs and 50 RBI.
Northwestern and Albany have never met.
Louisville (42-17), 1st, Conference USA
The Cardinals are in the midst of a record-setting season, and received
their second-consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Louisville
won the Conference USA regular season title for the first time in school
history and finished second in the league tournament, falling to No. 25
DePaul, 6-2, in the championship game. The Cardinals set a school-record
with 42 wins, 53 home runs and 26 shutouts.
Courtney Moore and Audrey Rendon both pace Louisville at the plate with .400+ batting averages. They have combined for 17 triples. In the circle, Catherine Bishop boasts a 1.14 ERA while Aja Sherman is tops with 257 strikeouts.
Northwestern has faced Louisville only once, with the Cardinals coming away with a 6-1 victory on March 1, 2002.
Notre Dame (44-13), 1st, Big East Conference
Notre Dame has been selected to host an NCAA Regional for the first
time in the program's history. The Big East regular season champions
and tournament runners up, the Irish will be making their seventh-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 10th overall. Megan Ciolli leads Notre Dame with a .387 average at the plate, while Steffanie
Stenglein (0.98) and Heather Booth (1.56) lead in ERA. Stenglein has
293 strikeouts.
Earlier this season, NU held ND to one hit through six innings while the Wildcats touched up Stenglein for three earned runs, but some fielding miscues in the seventh allowed the Irish to come back with four unearned runs for a 4-3 win.
Northwestern leads the alltime series with Notre Dame, 4-3. Before this season's meeting, the Wildcats swept the Irish in two-game series in 1995 and 2003, while Notre Dame swept a two-game set from NU in 1997.
Ninth Regional Facts
South Bend, Ind. Ivy Field
Game 1: Fri., May 20, 2005, Noon CT
Louisville vs. Notre Dame
Game 2: Fri., May 20, 2005, 2:30 p.m. CT
No. 9 Northwestern vs. Albany
Game 3: Sat., May 21, 2005, Noon CT
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4: Sat., May 21, 2005, 2:30 p.m. CT
Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5: Sat., May 21, 2005, 5 p.m. CT
Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Game 6: Sun., May 22, 2005, Noon CT
Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 7: (if necessary): Sun., May 22, 2005, 2:30 p.m. CT
Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 6