After this weekend, the Northwestern softball team may have to provide a disclaimer for people attending its games:

Caution – not for the faint of heart.

The Wildcats played four thrilling games over the weekend, with all four being decided by one run.

NU showed it could win and lose in the clutch by going 2-2 to open Big Ten conference play.

The Cats used some timely hitting and strong pitching late to sweep Penn State 8-7 and 4-3 in Happy Valley.

But NU (9-13, 2-2 Big Ten) couldn’t shut down Ohio State late, falling 4-3 and 3-2 in eight innings at Columbus.

“Almost all of us lost our voices,” sophomore pitcher Brie Brown said.

The Cats got off the bus Friday with their voices still intact ready to hit against Penn State.

NU scored eight runs in four innings behind freshman Carri Leto and junior Erin Jancic. Leto went 3-for-4 with an RBI while Jancic went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

“The kids were ready to play when we hit the field against Penn State,” coach Sharon Drysdale said. “It was a very satisfying performance.”

NU’s pitching staff didn’t fare as well. Brown gave up seven runs in 5 1/3 innings of work, but fellow sophomore Lauren Schwendimann blanked the Lady Lions over the final 1 2/3 innings to preserve the 8-7 victory.

Schwendimann was just warming up. She pitched a complete game – her first of the season after missing 12 games because of shoulder surgery – in the second half of the doubleheader, giving up only three runs and striking out three.

NU’s hitters, on the other hand, struggled to score, but brought out the bats when they had to.

With the game tied at three in the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Robyn Pettinger singled. After a sacrifice by J.C. Kira moved Pettinger to second, Leto brought her and the 4-3 victory home with a single.

But as magical as the Cats’ victories over Penn State were, they used up all their tricks by the time they met Ohio State on Saturday.

NU jumped out to a 3-0 lead and was on its way to victory. But Ohio State scored four runs on one hit against Schwendimann in the bottom of the seventh inning to win 4-3. Wendy Allen slid under the tag of NU catcher J.C. Kira at home for the final run.

“Everything was looking good and then the wheels came off in the seventh,” Drysdale said. “We made a lot of mistakes in the last inning.”

The Cats didn’t perform any better in the clutch on Sunday. NU tied the score at 2-2 with a pair of runs in the sixth inning, but Ohio State got a run off Brown in the top of the eighth for a 3-2 victory.

NU certainly had its fair share of chances in Sunday’s finale. In the bottom of the seventh Leto was thrown out stealing third to end the inning. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Jancic led off with a double, but the Cats couldn’t get her home.

“It was an unusual day for us,” Drysdale said. “We tried to run and they were up for it.”

The Cats take the field again Wednesday for a pair of home games against Northern Illinois at Anderson Field.

NU hopes things will be a little more calm.

“No one ever wants to have close games but they happen,” Brown said.