Still on Cloud Nine and headed for Texas, shortstop Robyn Pettinger couldn’t have written a better ending to the Northwestern softball season.
After winning three straight extra-inning contests to finish second at the Big Ten tournament last weekend, the No. 2 seed Wildcats take on No. 7 seed Tennessee Tech today at the NCAA Regional Tournament in Austin, Texas.
But Pettinger and her teammates see their Cinderella season continuing beyond this weekend — all the way to the Women’s College World Series.
“We’re thinking we’re still going to have practice when we get back next week,” Pettinger said. “I’ve been telling my teachers we’re still going to be missing some classes and probably some midterms.”
The “Cardiac Cats” made it to the NCAA Regional qualifier for the first time since 2000.
NU is 12-11 all-time in its five previous trips to the tournament.
Despite finishing in sixth place in the Big Ten regular-season race, the Cats received a better seed than any of their conference foes. Big Ten champion Iowa was slotted as a No. 3 seed in the Lincoln, Neb., Regional.
With eight regional qualifiers in the NCAA tournament, a No. 2 seed indicates NU is a top-16 team in the minds of the selection committee. But the Cats didn’t even crack the Top 25 in the most recent polls.
“I don’t think they’ve ever had a two seed that was ranked 30th in the country,” NU coach Kate Drohan said.
NU (35-17) and Tennessee Tech (41-14) have never played each other. Coach Tory Acheson’s Tennessee Tech squad is making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament, but Acheson isn’t worried about the competition.
“There’s no magic button that will make us play great against this team,” Acheson said. “Rather than find some gimmick to make us play better, we’ve got to focus on what we’ve done well all year long.”
NU coach Kate Drohan said pitching will determine the winner. She said she doesn’t think the Golden Eagles’ hurlers will overpower the Cats.
“Tennessee Tech doesn’t do anything fancy,” she said. “We’re going to be able to attack their pitching and put the ball in play where we want to put it.”
Drohan said the Golden Eagles have strong fundamentals and aren’t aggressive on the base paths. Since returning from the Big Ten tournament, NU has held light practices to improve baserunning and reading opponents’ offenses to correct errors they made at the conference tournament.
“Our baserunning had a few errors that cost us, but basically we need the big hit,” Pettinger said. “We had a lot of runners on base that didn’t get scored.”
In addition to clutch hitting, the Cats will need to provide their pitchers with more run support. In 52 innings at the Big Ten Tournament, the Cats left 56 runners on base.
The toughest opponent NU could face in its regional is top-seeded Texas. The Longhorns are ranked No. 3 in the nation and have sophomore pitcher Cat Osterman, who is a finalist for the USA Softball National Player of the Year.
“We joke about facing Cat,” Pettinger said. “Not thinking we were ever going to face her, a couple of girls and I were joking that if I get up to bat, I’m just going to close my eyes and swing. Now that we may actually have to play her I have to rethink that and get a new mindset.
“Anything a team can throw at us, we can give twice as much back. We showed a lot of guts (at the Big Ten Tournament) and that’s what we have to take into this regional.”
