April 9, 2008
Northwestern's Weekly Game Notes (PDF Format) 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 14 Northwestern takes the Big Ten's lone undefeated conference record on the road this weekend to Illinois and Iowa, making its Big Ten Network debut during Friday night's game against the Illini.
The Wildcats and Illini will square off at 6 p.m. CT Friday, April 11, in a live broadcast on the Big Ten Network, the first of five scheduled regular-season appearances for Northwestern. The two schools play the second game of their series at noon CT Saturday, April 12. Northwestern then travels to Iowa for a doubleheader beginning at noon CT Sunday, April 13. The trip to Iowa City is the Wildcats' first since the 2004 season.
Northwestern has a perfect 6-0 record after the first two weekends of conference play, sweeping Wisconsin, Minnesota and then-No. 24 Ohio State. Illinois is eighth in the Big Ten standings at 2-4 while Iowa is tied for third with a 4-2 mark. The Hawkeyes defeated second-place and sixth-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor last Friday.
Freshman Michelle Batts (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week after batting .583 with three home runs, two doubles and nine RBIs in three games last week. She upped her batting average on the year to .286 and now is tied with teammate Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) for the team lead with seven home runs.
Speaking of Williams, the junior was named to the 25-member USA Softball Player of the Year finalist list Wednesday, the second-straight year she has been tabbed as a finalist for the honor. Williams currently leads the nation with a .539 batting average while ranking No. 2 with a .602 on-base percentage.
To view the complete USA Softball Player of the Year finalist list, link to USAsoftball.com.
Sophomore Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Osceola) is coming off another stellar weekend, shutting out No. 24 Ohio State in both ends of a doubleheader while no-hitting the Buckeyes in the first game for her fourth no-no of the season. Delaney leads the Big Ten with 230 strikeouts and a .147 opponents' batting average.
Northwestern returns home at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, for a midweek clash with regional foe Notre Dame at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
The Broadcast
Northwestern softball makes its Big Ten Network debut this Friday with a live telecast at Illinois. Brian Barnhart will handle play-by-play duties with Northwestern's own two-time All-American and 2007 graduate Eileen Canney providing color commentary.
The Internet
Gametracker will be available for all games at NUsports.com. Iowa will have live audio available at hawkeyesports.com via CSTV Online's premium All-Access.