Struggling offense costs Wildcats conference wins in weekend series

Pitchers, defense turn out strong performances, but NU below .500 in Big Ten

By Zach Silka

The Daily Northwestern

The Northwestern softball team has been ranked in the top 25 twice so far this season, but currently it’s not playing anywhere near that level.

The Wildcats (19-13, 3-5 Big Ten) are tied for fifth in the Big Ten with Michigan State and Wisconsin, and haven’t won any of their first four conference series.

Coming off three losses in four games two weeks ago against Iowa and Illinois, the Cats needed to win their series against Wisconsin and Minnesota at home this past weekend to move their record to .500 in the Big Ten.

But NU fell short of that goal, with a split against Wisconsin (23-19, 3-5) Friday and Saturday and another split in its doubleheader Sunday with Minnesota (24-13, 5-3).

“What we needed to accomplish this weekend was four wins,” NU coach Kate Drohan said. “We needed four wins.”

The offense once again let the Cats down in both their losses. In a 4-2 loss to the Badgers on Friday, NU left 15 runners stranded on the base paths. The Cats left 11 runners on base in a 2-1 defeat to Minnesota in the first game of the doubleheader on Sunday.

“I’d like to see us get better at-bats with runners on base,” Drohan said. “We struck out too much with runners on base. We need to put the ball in play and put the pressure on the defense more.”

With the two losses, the Cats wasted two great pitching performances. Sophomore Courtnay Foster (8-11) lost twice, but gave up only five earned runs and 14 hits in 15 innings. She also had 21 strikeouts in the two losses.

“I like to think our pitching is one of the team’s strengths,” Foster said. “I need to start coming up with some more big pitches, and I think the bats will start coming around and putting some runs up. We just need to stop splitting with teams.”

In the Cats’ two victories this weekend, their bats came alive.

NU pounded out 11 hits and scored four runs against Wisconsin but only needed four hits to score four runs in the second game of the doubleheader against Minnesota.

“We focused on driving in base runners in the last game with Minnesota, and it worked,” Drohan said.

But the games in which the offense finally responded were those in which NU only needed one run to win, as freshman Eileen Canney had two complete-game shutouts over the weekend.

Canney added two more dazzling performances to her young career, as she struck out 20 batters and gave up only nine hits all weekend.

“Eileen and I both know our offense is struggling as of late, and we both know we need to go out and perform well,” Foster said. “But we also have a lot of faith that they’re going to get back into a groove and start scoring more runs.”

What gave Canney the most momentum all weekend were big defensive plays. While the fielding was not flawless — the Cats committed five errors this weekend — they made plays when they needed them most.

Whether it was freshman left fielder Katie Logan making two sliding catches, senior second baseman Carri Leto making a diving grab, senior catcher J.C. Kira blocking countless balls in the dirt, or sophomore center fielder Sheila McCorkle throwing a runner out at the plate, the defense was there to back up its pitchers.

“We’re ready for the ball,” Drohan said. “They are talking a lot more out there defensively. I think they are playing together very well.”

Logan agreed, but said the team needs to step up its play in the field.

“I think we can still play stronger and make more outstanding plays instead of routine plays,” she said.