March 24, 2009
Northwestern's Spring Break Game Notes (PDF Format) 
Watch Wednesday's game against Maryland here via ACC Select
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Coming off a successful stretch of scintillating softball, No. 10 Northwestern embarks on its 2009 spring break trip to Washington, D.C., playing three mid-week games before traveling to Penn State for Big Ten action March 28-29.
NU visits Maryland at 4 p.m. CT/5 p.m. local time Wednesday, March 25, before facing Georgetown in a doubleheader that starts at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. local time Thursday, March 26. The Wednesday contest at Maryland is available for online viewing via ACC Select -- click this link to watch!
The Wildcats have played their last six games against teams ranked in the top-8 in the nation, going 5-1 during that stint. NU swept then-No. 8 Tennessee and split with No. 6 Oklahoma at "The Preview" March 7-8 in Oklahoma City, Okla., before taking both games against No. 8 Michigan March 21-22 during the opening weekend of Big Ten play.
This week marks the second-ever meeting between Northwestern and Maryland. The Wildcats won the prior party, 6-2, in 1999. NU and Georgetown never have met.
Junior Kelly Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week after batting .800 with a grand slam, two singles and a double in the Wildcats' sweep of the Wolverines last weekend. She is the third different 'Cat to win the award this season (Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) and Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) are the others) and the seventh different NU player on the 2009 roster to have won the honor during her career.
Northwestern's offense on the whole has been stellar this season, especially of late. The Wildcats currently lead the Big Ten in home runs (35), slugging percentage (.525) and on-base percentage (.379) while ranking second in RBIs (114) and runs scored (125), despite playing fewer total games than anyone else in the conference to this point of the season. In addition, 11 of NU's 22 contests (50 percent) have been against ranked opponents, with nine of the 22 (41 percent) coming versus foes ranked in the top-8 in the nation at the time of the game.
For Northwestern's complete spring break game notes package, click on the .pdf link at the top of this page.