Andrew SimonThe Daily Northwestern
The Northwestern softball team is tough to play. Wright State and Illinois State found that out this weekend, as NU swept its three games against those two squads to advance to next weekend’s super regional against South Carolina.
The No. 2 seed Wildcats can do it all. They have great pitching. They play solid defense. Offensively, they can hit for power or do what they did throughout the regional: play small ball.
But the biggest reason this team is so tough to face is because it’s, well, tough. Mentally tough. And anyone who has played softball or baseball knows success is impossible if you’re a mess upstairs. As Yogi Berra once famously quipped, “Baseball is 90 percent mental – the other half is physical.”
OK, so maybe that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but here’s something that does: The Cats are going to make another deep run in the Women’s College World Series because they play the game without fear, whether things are going their way or not.
Even if NU falls behind in an important game, as it did both Saturday and Sunday against Illinois State, there is no sense of panic.
“A lot of teams with our experience would be frustrated with (falling behind early),” NU coach Kate Drohan said. “But again, we’re remaining calm and looking each other in the eye and saying, ‘OK, let’s create another opportunity here.'”
Where does this mental fortitude come from? It doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. Illinois State coach Melinda Fischer summed it up best after the Cats ended her team’s season Sunday.
“They have the experience,” Fischer said. “You can’t take away the experience of having played in the World Series.”
This year NU is reaping the benefits of making it all the way to the championship series of last year’s Women’s College World Series. As center fielder Katie Logan said Saturday, the team’s experience means it knows what it takes to succeed.
Because of this, when the Cats take the field, they look like a team that not only wants to win, but expects it.
“We’re just playing our game, so if we play our best game, we’re going to the top,” Logan said.
Saturday’s contest was a perfect example of NU’s confident and fearless approach. Pitcher Eileen Canney, who had a phenomenal regional, gave up two runs to Illinois State in the first inning.
But the Cats never panicked, never seemed desperate and chipped away at the deficit. They got a run back in the first and grabbed the lead with a three-run fourth in which all of the runs came with two outs.
As for Canney, she displayed an incredible ability to turn her game up a notch in the face of adversity. Unfazed by the two-run first inning, she held the Redbirds scoreless over the next six frames, giving up just four hits.
Canney’s mettle was most obvious in the fifth, as Illinois State got runners on second and third with no outs, threatening to erase the lead her offense had just given her. Not only did Canney keep her cool, but she also turned up the heat on the Redbirds, striking out the third, fourth and fifth hitters in the lineup to escape trouble.
With performances like this, the Cats showed they are deserving of their No. 2 seed and a good bet to repeat the success of last season’s squad.
Just don’t assume any of those expectations will get to their heads.
