| NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: GAME INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | WATCH | LIVE STATS |
| Wednesdya, April 5 | Illinois | 6 pm CT | Eichelberger Field Champaign, Ill. |
BTN | Live Stats |
| Social: Twitter: @NUSBcats | Instagram: @NUSBcats | |||||
EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 23 Northwestern travels to Champaign to take on intrastate rivals Illinois on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on BTN.
The Wildcats are coming off a series win at Iowa this past weekend. The 'Cats knocked-off the Hawkeyes 8-3 in 10 innings on Saturday, before splitting a double-header on Sunday.
Nikki Cuchran continued her hot streak with another big weekend for the 'Cats. The former First Team All-Big Ten first baseman hit .545 (6-for-11) with a home run, double, and five RBI on the weekend. Since Big Ten play opened two weekends ago, Cuchran has raised her season batting average from .203 to .329.
First-year Kansas Robinson had a weekend to remember, crushing the first home run of her collegiate career in Sunday's series finale. Robinson went 5-for-13 with three RBI and two runs scored last week against DePaul and Iowa.
Iowa native Skyler Shellmyer sparked the 'Cats' offense with four hits, four SB, and three runs scored), while Angela Zedak notched four hits, three RBI, three runs scored, and a home run.
Lauren Boyd followed up her first-career Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award with the second seven-inning shutout of her career. Boyd's last complete game shutout came in her first collegiate start against Michigan St. on Feb. 26, 2021. The junior has lowered her season ERA to 1.85, sixth-lowest in the Big Ten.
After striking out 19 batters in three games against DePaul and Iowa last week, Danielle Williams is now 11 Ks from moving into sole possession of fourth place on the program career strikeouts leaderboard. Williams' 1,004 career strikeouts are tied for second most among active players across all of college softball.
Northwestern is 33-16 all-time against Illinois, but split a two-game series last season.
The Wildcats are ranked 15th in RPI this season and have faced the 10th hardest schedule in the country. NU has beaten four top-25 RPI, while the rest of the Big Ten has combined for nine of those wins.