For the first time in Big Ten history, a team not named the Hawkeyes or Wolverines will host the conference tournament.
No. 13 Northwestern beat Illinois on Saturday to clinch the Big Ten title, becoming the first squad other than Iowa or Michigan to win the conference during the tournament’s 13-year history.
NU (40-11, 16-3) earned 40 regular-season wins for just the second time in school history by shutting out Illinois (24-30, 8-11), 3-0 Saturday and 5-0 Sunday in Champaign, Ill.
The title is the fifth in school history and the Wildcats’ first since 1987. That means when the Big Ten Tournament starts Thursday, it will be on Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
“We’re extremely excited,” senior center fielder Sheila McCorkle said. “We play amazing on our field and hit tons of home runs, so we’ll be really confident. And with all the fan support, it’ll be a big advantage, so that was a big motivation for us.”
Since coach Kate Drohan took over the program in 2002, the march toward a Big Ten title has been slow but steady, as the Cats have improved their conference record each season of her tenure.
“For the last four years, we’ve taken steps closer each year and gained some valuable experience,” Drohan said. “We have a fantastic group of seniors who has turned this program around.”
In 2005, Drohan’s club came closer than ever, entering its final Big Ten series of the season against Michigan needing to win just one out of two games for the title. But the No. 1 Wolverines swept the series and stole the crown.
In a similar position this time around against the Illini, the Cats took care of business.
“It was awesome, especially after last year’s letdown,” McCorkle said. “That was a big punch in the gut last year when Michigan beat us twice.”
NU showed right away it was intent on not returning to Evanston empty-handed, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning Friday on RBI singles from first baseman Garland Cooper and catcher Jamie Dotson.
That was more than enough support for pitcher Eileen Canney, the defending Louisville Slugger/ NFCA Co-National Player of the Week. Canney surrendered just four hits and didn’t walk a batter in her complete game shutout performance. Her 12 strikeouts moved her into second on the NU single-season list, as she improved to 20-5 on the season.
“I was so excited,” Canney said of getting the early lead. “It makes it a lot easier to pitch when you’ve got runs on the board.”
The Cats continued to gain momentum Saturday, as they shut out the Illini again, this time behind senior Courtnay Foster, who earned her 20th win of season. It’s the first time in school history two pitchers have been 20-game winners in the same year.
It was also Foster’s second consecutive strong outing, a good omen for NU after she had struggled a bit in recent games.
“Courtnay threw a heck of a game,” Drohan said. “She worked ahead in the count and mixed speeds well. She was in control the whole time.”
Reach Andrew Simon at [email protected].
