Sharon J. Drysdale Field BatsSharon J. Drysdale Field Bats

Northwestern Travels to Purdue for B1G Weekend Series

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: Nebraska Series
DATE OPPONENT TIME LOCATION COVERAGE LIVE STATS
Friday, April 6 Purdue Noon CT/
1 p.m. ET
West Lafayette,
Indiana
BTN Plus Stream Live Stats
Saturday, April 7 Purdue 2 p.m. CT/
3 p.m. ET
West Lafayette,
Indiana
BTN Plus Stream Live Stats
Sunday, April 8 Purdue Noon CT/
1 p.m. ET
West Lafayette,
Indiana
BTN Plus Stream Live Stats
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Game Notes: Northwestern | TICKETS


EVANSTON, Ill. -- Coming off another exciting series victory at Sharon J. Drysdale Field, Northwestern's first Big Ten weekend road trip takes it to West Lafayette, Indiana, this Friday through Sunday, April 6-8, to take on Purdue.

Weather has already impacted the series, with Friday's scheduled 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET first pitch being moved up to a new start time of noon CT/1 p.m. ET. The rest of the series remains in place: Saturday's contest is at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET and Sunday's finale is a noon CT/1 p.m. ET beginning. All games of the series will be streamed live on BTN Plus on BTN2Go.

The Wildcats currently sit in fourth place in the Big Ten standings after winning series against recent top-flight programs Minnesota and Nebraska at home. NU also split a doubleheader on the road against Illinois. Upstart Indiana leads the B1G at the moment with a perfect 6-0 record after sweeping both Ohio State and Michigan State. That record is interesting given the fact Northwestern won two games versus Indiana this year, but both were non-conference contests played at pre-conference tournaments.

Purdue enters the series with a 1-5 record, recently falling in a sweep to Michigan—which is the third place team in the league standings at 4-1 just behind 5-1 Maryland and just in front of the 5-3 Wildcats. The Boilermakers have show the ability to be a dangerous team, beating a good Notre Dame squad just before their series against the Wolverines. Purdue also took a game off Illinois in its Big Ten-opening series and sent another contest against the Illini into extra innings.

Northwestern has showed a flair for the dramatic thus far in Big Ten play, coming from behind in four of its five conference victories—including twice last week against Nebraska. Trailing by scores of 3-0 and 5-0 in the final two games of that series, NU came back for 8-3 and 9-5 wins, showing resilience in the form of a powerful offense.

As a team, Northwestern is first in the Big Ten in scoring, RBIs, hits, home runs and four other categories while ranking second in batting average thus far in B1G play. First-year Rachel Lewis continues to help fuel that run production, earning her third Big Ten weekly award on Monday as the Freshman of the Week for her performances against Illinois and Nebraska. Senior Sabrina Rabin is batting nearly .500 in NU's last 16 games, and senior Sammy Nettling is batting almost .400 in the Wildcats' last 13 contests with seven doubles.

In the circle, fifth-year senior Nicole Bond has stepped up in Big Ten action, earning her first complete-game win of the season Saturday against Nebraska. Her contributions of late have proven to be huge complements to emerging two-headed monster of Morgan Newport and Kenna Wilkey in the circle.

Northwestern returns home after this weekend to host Ohio State April 13-15. Saturday's game will feature an alumni reunion with plenty of other fun activities for fans and students planned throughout the weekend. Be There, #B1GCats!!


NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL HOME TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

NU's best home schedule in recent memory continues next week against No. 23 Ohio State. Tickets are available NOW!


PROGRAMMING NOTE

Below is a coverage schedule for the remainder of the season. In addition to this coverage, EVERY GAME will have live stats and live tweets at NUsports.com and @NUSBCats on Twitter.

PURDUE SERIES (April 6-8)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go. For BTN Plus on BTN2Go, Cost is $9.95 for a monthly pass for Northwestern games.

OHIO STATE SERIES (April 13-15)
April 13 will be televised live on BTN and BTN2Go.
April 14-15 will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

RUTGERS SERIES (April 20-22)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

IOWA SERIES (April 27-29)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

WISCONSIN SERIES (May 4-6)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Both home games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go. Both away games will have Studio N audio, which is a subscription product. Cost is $3.95 for a 24-hour pass.


PLAY BALL!
For a complete season preview and notes on this weekend's Purdue series, download our Game Notes available here and in the chart at the top of this page.


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