April 8, 2010
Northwestern's Alabama Series Game Notes (PDF Format) 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- With a bye in the Big Ten schedule this weekend, Northwestern will step out of conference April 10-11 to face No. 6 Alabama in a two-game series in Tuscaloosa.
The opening contest is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. CT first pitch on Saturday, April 10. That is a time change from the originally publicized 1 p.m. CT start. On Sunday, the teams will meet beginning at noon CT.
The programs have played a pair of classic contests in their most recent meetings. In 2006 in the opening round of the Women's College World Series, NU's Erin Dyer hit a two-strike, two-out, bottom-of-the-seventh, game-tying home run in an eventual 6-5, 10-inning win over the Crimson Tide that launched the Wildcats on a path to the national championship game. UA and NU met again in Lincoln Park in 2008 when then-No. 1 Alabama traveled to DePaul for a one-day round-robin event. That game also went into extra innings, with the Tide coming out on top, 6-5, in eight frames.
The only other previous meeting between Northwestern and Alabama came at the 2004 Palm Springs Classic. This weekend's games will mark the first between the schools at one of their on-campus sites.
Freshman Emily Allard has continued to be red-hot for Northwestern at the plate, notching her seventh multiple-hit game in the Wildcats' last nine outings Wednesday at Iowa to raise her batting average on the season up to a team-best .370. She also has a team-high 20 steals in 21 attempts.
Speaking of steals on the whole, Northwestern now has 66 in 72 attempts on the season. That total is more than a Wildcat team has had in any previous full season under head coach Kate Drohan, and is the most since NU swiped 92 bags in the year 2000.
Following the Alabama series, Northwestern returns home to Sharon J. Drysdale Field to host Minnesota in an April 14 midweek Big Ten doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.
For Northwestern's complete game notes package for this weekend's series, download the .pdf at the top of this page.
VOTE FOR PAULY!
Nicole Pauly is one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Fans can vote for Pauly once per day at seniorCLASSaward.com or by texting SOFTBALL to 74567.
THE BROADCASTS
Saturday's game will be broadcast via an internet-only audio stream produced by Northwestern's student-radio folks at WNUR 89.3 FM. To listen, go to sports.wnur.org.
POWER of PINK
Saturday's game is the spring installment of Alabama's three-part "Power of Pink" initiative to raise awareness and support for breast cancer initiatives. Northwestern will be joining the effort by incorporating pink into its gameday jersey and gear.
Become a Northwestern Softball Fan on Facebook!