With Big Ten wins already becoming regular items in its diet, the Northwestern softball team is hungry for more.
Having garnered victories in five of six games against Indiana, Purdue and Illinois over the past two weekends, the ravenous Wildcats will take a break today from their rigorous conference schedule to take on Northern Illinois in a doubleheader.
NU (14-9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) is off to its best Big Ten start in 15 years, and the Cats hope to maintain their early success against the Huskies (13-15).
“We don’t take these games lightly,” sophomore infielder Carri Leto said. “It may not count in the Big Ten standings, but it means a lot for postseason play.”
Senior outfielder Erin Jancic also stressed the importance of getting two wins against the Huskies.
“Even though it’s nonconference, a win is still a win,” Jancic said.
The Cats, currently tied with Michigan for second place in the Big Ten standings, will head to DeKalb today still brooding over a 5-4 heartbreaker at the hands of intrastate rival Illinois on Sunday. Two late-inning NU errors allowed the Fighting Illini to score an unearned, game-winning run in the game.
“Every single person on this team is upset about that loss,” Leto said. “We’re going to use that in a positive way for the rest of the season.”
Added Jancic: “It was a big game for us to lose because we’re such big rivals. We can’t make those mistakes in those kinds of situations.”
So far, the Cats have been winning with a foundation of strong pitching, with hurlers Lauren Schwendimann and Brie Brown turning in one solid performance after another. But now NU is looking to improve other aspects of its game.
“We need our offense to get going a little bit,” Jancic said.
While Northern Illinois isn’t exactly a softball juggernaut, the Cats are still wary of the Huskies. NU has a slight advantage in the all-time series between the two teams, 25-21-1.
NU has had a tendency this year to follow a strong performance against a top team with a poor effort in the next game.
During Spring Break the Cats defeated then-No. 8 California, fell to Nattadai, a Japanese college team, and got hammered by California in a rematch.
But with Leto and Jancic stressing the importance of each and every game, the Cats hope that the cycle won’t repeat itself.
“It just builds more confidence to get more wins under our belt,” Leto said.
Rest will be at a premium for NU in the coming days as the team delves back into Big Ten play. After the Northern Illinois games, NU will have a day off before hosting Ohio State and Penn State in a pair of doubleheaders this weekend.
“We’re playing with a lot of emotion right now,” Jancic said. “And with our style of play, we need emotion to win.”
