May 21, 2008
Northwestern's NCAA Super Regional Notes (PDF Format) 
Media Day Video
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Back on February 16, Northwestern completed its first game of the season with an 8-5 victory over then-No. 1 Arizona at Farrington Stadium in the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State. Now, more than three months later, Farrington is the final stop on NU's journey toward a third-straight trip to the Women's College World Series.
No. 11 seed Northwestern travels to Tempe this weekend to take on No. 6 seed Arizona State in a best 2-of-3 NCAA Super Regional for the right to advance to the 2008 WCWS. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT Friday, May 23, with the second game beginning at 3 p.m. CT Saturday. The if necessary game would immediately follow. All three tilts will be televised live on ESPNU.
The Wildcats will be familiar both with their foes and their surroundings. NU has played eight games at Farrington Stadium over the last five campaigns. In each of the last three years NU has faced Arizona at the facility during the season's opening weekend.
Though they did not meet this year, NU and Arizona State did battle twice in 2007, with the Wildcats coming out on top both times. On Feb. 24 at the Palm Springs Classic, then freshman Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) launched two home runs including a seventh-inning grand slam to lead NU to a 5-2 victory. The programs met again in the opening round of the Women's College World Series, where NU's Eileen Canney shut down the Sun Devils' lineup with a one-hit shutout in a 2-0 win. NU is 4-1 versus ASU in the seven year Drohan era.
The intriguing matchup pits two of the game's top hitters against two of the top pitchers. Big Ten Player of the Year Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) led the nation in batting for nearly the entire season, homering in her last meeting with ASU ace and Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year Katie Burkhart. Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, sophomore Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias), will go head-to-head with Pac-10 Player of the Year Kaitlin Cochran. Williams, Burkhart and Cochran all are top-10 finalists for USA Softball Player of the Year.
For ticketing information, visit thesundevils.com.
For Northwestern's complete game notes package on the NCAA Tempe Super Regional, click on the .pdf at the top of this page.
The Broadcasts
Every game of the Regional will be broadcast live on ESPNU with Dave Cohen drawing play-by-play duties and Leah Amico providing the color commentary. Check your local listings or phone your local establishment for channel availability. Also, student radio WNUR 89.3 FM will continue its Northwestern softball postseason tradition by traveling to Tempe to broadcast all games live over its airwaves. Fans also can listen online at sports.wnur.org.