When the Northwestern softball team took the field for fall practice, the returning players knew they would have to rely on coach Sharon Drysdale’s newest recruiting class, which made up nearly half the team.
But no one — from Drysdale all the way to the meekest of freshmen — knew exactly what to expect from their season.
If a Big Ten tournament appearance was all they hoped for as the leaves were still falling to the ground, then the Wildcats were in for quite a surprise.
Gritty play and clutch performances from freshmen pitchers Lauren Schwendimann and Brie Brown and Big Ten Player of the Year Brooke Siebel combined for a positive season at Anderson Field.
The Cats’ record — 30-26, 14-8 Big Ten — wasn’t spectacular, but it was more than enough to exceed expectations.
A fourth-place finish in the regular season and Big Ten tournament berth were gratifying, especially since NU had a shot at the regular season title down to the last hours of the season.
But a spot in the NCAA regionals — NU’s first since 1987 — was the cherry on the top of the sundae that was the 2000 season.
“I didn’t know how it would turn out,” freshman Alyson Schulz said. “When we started out with our first tournament in Florida, things weren’t looking too good.”
In February’s Louisville Slugger tournament in Tampa, Fla., the Cats posted a 3-3 record. Two weeks later, the Cats went 2-4 at the Florida Classic tournament in Gainesville, Fla. — hardly the start of a team that would get within three games of the College World Series.
But just as shocking as the Cats’ berth in the NCAA tournament was the way they got there.
Drysdale has long been an advocate of aggressive baserunning and scrappy hitting. However, at the start of the Big Ten regular season — about halfway through the year — the Cats suddenly went on a tear, knocking the ball over the fence at an unprecedented rate.
The team ended up with 24 home runs on the year and slugged their way to big victories over ranked teams such as Illinois-Chicago and Michigan. In addition, NU posted victories over Washington and DePaul — two of the eight teams playing in this season’s College World Series.
“In practice we would have long ball competitions,” sophomore leftfielder Rane Gunderson said. “Practice just got everybody’s confidence up.”
As expected from a young team, the Cats played much better in the second half of the season than the first.
But toughness propelled the Cats — maybe even more than maturity.
After nearly every game the Cats were walking ice packs coming off the field, but many of the players fought through injury to keep playing.
Catcher was a problem spot for NU. Drysdale had to use three players in a week at the position after starter Gretchen Barnes and third-base convert Schulz both went down with hand injuries.
But every starter was back in the lineup by the time the postseason rolled around — and the full-strength Cats lost two close games to No. 13 Oregon State in the NCAA regionals. In that tournament, NU eliminated both Arkansas and Harvard.
And with so much young talent, NU can expect to keep getting shots at going to softball’s ultimate tournament.
“We could do just as well (next year) if not better,” Schulz said. “I definitely think we could make it to the College World Series.”
