Adrienne Monka enters this weekend ranked first in the nation in on-base percentage and walks per game. She has driven in 25 runs in NU's 23 games this year.Adrienne Monka enters this weekend ranked first in the nation in on-base percentage and walks per game. She has driven in 25 runs in NU's 23 games this year.

Northwestern Continues Homestand Two Wins Away From No. 1,000

March 30, 2011

Northwestern's Complete Weekly Release (PDF Format) Get Acrobat Reader

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern enters a four-game homestand this weekend against a trio of local nonconference opponents currently two wins away from the 1,000th in program history.

The Wildcats have an all-time record of 998-701-4 since their inception in 1976, averaging 37 wins per season since Kate and Caryl Drohan took over the helm 10 years ago prior to the 2002 season. The bulk of NU's victories were earned by legendary Sharon J. Drysdale, who captured 640 during a 23-year career spanning the 1979-2001 seasons.

Northwestern's first shot at The Grand comes Saturday, April 2, in a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Loyola (Chicago) at the aptly named Sharon J. Drysdale Field in Evanston. The Wildcats continue the homestand against DePaul at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, and Northern Illinois at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 6.

Prior to Saturday's doubleheader, former Wildcat All-American and USA National Team member Tammy Williams will return as a member of National Professional Fastpitch's Chicago Bandits to put on a FREE clinic for girls in grades 1 through 8. The Bandits' clinic begins at noon; for more details or to register for the FREE clinic, link to this NUsports.com page.

Tuesday's game against DePaul has been declared "Chicagoland Day" at the ballpark. All Chicago area schools, leagues and teams are invited to watching the Wildcats and Blue Demons do battle.

Fans have the opportunity to see two of the best players in the nation at Drysdale Field this weekend. Junior slugger Adrienne Monka currently leads the country in walks per game (1.13) and on-base percentage (.667) while ranking 19th in batting average (.463) and 21st in slugging (.889). Sophomore speedster Emily Allard is second in the nation in steals per game (1.0) and fourth in batting average (.500). Allard enters this weekend riding a 14-game hitting streak. Other streaking Wildcats include Kelly Quinn, who is batting .421 in NU's last 11 games, and Michelle Batts, who is hitting .357 with 14 RBIs in NU's last nine contests.

(For Northwestern's complete week-ahead game notes package, download the .pdf at the top of this page)

THE BROADCASTS

April 2: The Northwestern vs. Loyola (Chicago) doubleheader will be broadcast by student-radio station WNUR 89.3 FM on their website at sports.wnur.org.

April 5: Northwestern vs. DePaul will be streamed live in high definition at BigTenNetwork.com and broadcast over the air by WNUR 89.3 FM.

April 6: Northwestern vs. Northern Illinois will be streamed live in high definition at BigTenNetwork.com and will feature streaming audio at sports.wnur.org.

SCHARK BYTES BLOG

Don't miss out on the best student-athlete blog on the internet today! Be sure to read sophomore Kristin Scharkey's Schark Bytes blog!

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