It may not be spring just yet, but softball season is underway at Northwestern - and you should be paying attention. The Wildcats are just 7-7 early in the year, but have already played five ranked teams, beating one of them and losing late leads to two others. With a roster full of young, promising talent and savvy, experienced veterans, these ‘Cats may just be Northwestern’s most talented team you haven’t heard of. When NU is making some noise in the Big Ten a few months from now, we don’t want to say we told you so. Here are some reasons why you should pay attention to Northwestern softball:
Northwestern just beat No. 11 UCLA - Will Fischer
After losing late leads against No. 8 Georgia and No. 20 Fresno State, Northwestern finally got a ranked win, topping No. 11 UCLA 7-2 on Sunday. Senior Amy Letourneau pitched a full seven frames, giving up just five hits and two runs (one earned), while striking out three. With the score tied 2-2 in the sixth inning, the Wildcats rallied for four runs, breaking the game open.
SB: #B1GCats on the attack! FOUR runs in now in the sixth to give NU a 6-2 lead on No. 11 UCLA! Marquez, Nelson & Rabin with RBIs.
— NorthwesternSoftball (@NUSBcats) February 28, 2016
In what was truly a team win, five NU players recorded a RBI in the contest. With the big win at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California, along with the close losses to two other ranked teams there, NU should gain some notoriety among softball’s elite. The ‘Cats have proved that they can play with - and beat - some of the best teams in the country.
They hit balls out of the park, literally - Jason Mast
On April 27 last season, senior outfielder Olivia Duehr hit a ball onto the roof of McGaw Hall, that ugly rectangle that houses Welsh-Ryan Arena. Now, I have no idea how far that is, and the Internet doesn’t seem to know either, but it’s awesome. It’s the softball equivalent of Kyle Schwarber’s playoff bomb onto the Wrigley Field scoreboard, or this 484-foot shot from the 280-pound Cecil Fielder onto the roof of Tiger Stadium. It was also Duehr’s third time doing it and the ninth time since 2007 a Wildcat has hit a ball onto the roof. For those counting at home, that’s just over one per year. Duehr graduated last June, but in 2015 then-juniors Andrea Filler and Andrea DiPrima hit 12 and 10 home runs, respectively. Come spring, one may well put another dent in the home of Northwestern basketball.
Coach Kate Drohan is just 13 wins from 500 - Andy Brown
In her 15 seasons in Evanston, Drohan has never coached a team with a losing record, and her teams have only finished outside of the top five in Big Ten play twice during her tenure. Quite frankly, this is a rarity for any Northwestern sport. Not only is she appreciative of higher culture, but she is also objectively one of the best coaches in the Big Ten, with a career .647 winning percentage in conference play. NU fans are hungry for a winner, but in all the hoopla for women’s lacrosse and coach Kelly Amonte Hiller’s seven national championships, Wildcats fans often forget about another juggernaut sport with another long-tenured, consistently successful head coach.
Freshman Kaley Winegarner is the future - Tim Hackett
There’s no question that Letourneau is the ace of the staff, and Kristen Wood is an excellent second option and reliever, but the Wildcats may have just found their pitcher of the future in freshman Kaley Winegarner. The California native chose NU over such softball powerhouses as Michigan, Stanford, Washington and Florida, and she’s lived up to her billing so far: she’s appeared in six of NU’s 14 games, starting three, and has tallied a 2-1 record, a 3.00 ERA and a .250 opponent batting average. She’s pitched 16.1 innings, second-most on the team, and her ERA is the squad’s best. With Wood and Letourneau set to graduate this spring, the experience Winegarner gathers this year will be pivotal in her future that, right now, looks very bright.
They may be about to break through - Rob Schaefer
Northwestern has now played five ranked opponents this season, and while they’re 1-4 in said contests, they have shown marked improvement in each, improvement that finally culminated in a dominating win over UCLA. It’s definitely worth seeing if the Wildcats can generate some momentum off this result, continuing to perform better against top competition. As NU goes into Big Ten play, it will have series against No. 2 Michigan (12-2), No. 20 Minnesota (10-4) and No. 23 Nebraska (10-3). If the ‘Cats can continue their trend of improvement against some of the better teams in the country, they would put themselves in a good position to make the NCAA Tournament and advance, a feat they very nearly accomplished last season.