Northwestern’s softball program doesn’t have an official team number, but after their weekend series at Rutgers, they should consider it.
During the top of the 7th-inning on Sunday’s game, the Wildcats put on a 7-run rally for the second day in a row to defeat the Scarlet Knights in dramatic fashion. The comeback brought the team their 7th-straight win and a ton of momentum heading toward the end of the regular season.
FLY IT!! The #B1GCats complete their THIRD seventh-inning comeback in @B1Gsoftball play this season to get Win No. 28, 10-5 over Rutgers!!! pic.twitter.com/Zcf7MpmXwW
— NorthwesternSoftball (@NUSBcats) April 21, 2018
Northwestern (29-13, 11-5 Big Ten) didn’t waste their opportunity to make a statement this past week, thanks to an 8-3 win over Notre Dame (29-18) followed by a road sweep of conference opponent Rutgers (17-26, 2-12 Big Ten). The team sits at 4th place in the Big Ten standings.
Kenna Wilkey was the star player for the team, earning wins in all four games through two starts and two relief appearances. Wilkey allowed only 19 hits and seven earned runs in just over 22 innings. Sabrina Rabin went 8-17 to bolster her team-leading .391 batting average, while Sammy Nettling posted a team-high 10 RBI.
Perhaps the most fascinating part about softball’s weekend was their ability to pull off two last-inning comebacks. Down 3-5 and 1-7 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, the ’Cats would post 7-run 7th-innings to knock both victories out of Rutgers’ grasp. During the second comeback, four players hit solo home runs - three of whom collected their first homers of the season.
Why is this so incredible? The final three starters without a #dinger ALL hit their first-career homer during today’s seven-run seventh-inning comeback!#B1GCats#B1GBatshttps://t.co/67JRY32Wxz
— NorthwesternSoftball (@NUSBcats) April 22, 2018
Northwestern has four opponents remaining on their regular schedule, including two conference series versus middle-of-the-road Iowa and Wisconsin teams. The team will take on Loyola-Chicago on Wednesday and host Iowa during the weekend for their final home games of the season.