The season so far has not been particularly kind to the Northwestern softball team.
After starting 6-3, the Wildcats have gone 1-8 over their past nine games.
But all that can be tossed over the backstop with the start of the Big Ten season this weekend.
NU (7-11) travels to Penn State for a doubleheader Friday, then goes to Ohio State for a Saturday game and another on Sunday.
“We all know the Big Ten season is a new season,” sophomore pitcher Lauren Schwendimann said. “We don’t want to dwell on our losing.”
If the Cats don’t wish to brood over Big Ten losses, they will have to find ways to score runs.
During its eight-game losing streak, NU tallied only 13 runs. But the Cats crossed the plate nine times to beat Cal-State Northridge 9-7 in their last outing.
“We seemed to get a few people on track that had been having difficulties,” coach Sharon Drysdale said. “It felt good to see so many people making contact.”
One of those players was junior Erin Jancic. The centerfielder had struggled along with the rest of her teammates during the losing streak. But against Cal-State Northridge, she went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
“I was just seeing the ball a lot better,” Jancic said. “Mentally, I felt a lot better up there.”
The hitters aren’t the only ones feeling better after finally snapping the skid. NU’s pitching staff is the healthiest it has been all season.
For the first 12 games of the year, the staff consisted of sophomore Brie Brown, who pitched well early with three shutouts in NU’s first nine games. But lately Brown has shown signs of fatigue, giving up seven runs her last time out.
Fortunately for the Cats, Brown has had the last week off. In addition, she is no longer the only arm in NU’s arsenal. Schwendimann, who
Schwendimann went 20-11 last year with a 1.76 ERA, is back in the rotation after shoulder surgery last fall. She has already started several games and will probably get a start this weekend.
“I think she’s throwing harder,” Drysdale said. “She has more confidence.”
NU will start its Big Ten season the same way it ended last year’s – facing Penn State. The Nittany Lions defeated NU 3-1 to end its chances of a Big Ten tourney championship.
This weekend NU is looking to even the score.
“There’s certain teams you really want to beat and Penn State is one of them,” Schwendimann said. “There’s a lot of competitiveness.”
Another element in the budding rivalry is Penn State coach Robin Petrini who was an NU assistant for eight years before taking over for the Nittany Lions.
But the Cats will have to be careful not to get too caught up in their matchup with Penn State that they overlook Ohio State.
The Buckeyes finished 4-13 in the Big Ten last season, but coaches and players said they are an accomplished team.
“We need to get up for the game,” Schwendimann said. “It would be easy to take them lightly.”
Looking past Ohio State is just one of the many pitfalls that could trap NU on the road trip.
But for now, it’s a new beginning for the Cats.
