For the first time in three years, No. 11 Northwestern will not host the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament. But the team will face No. 2 Arizona State in familiar territory.
The Wildcats (40-14) travel to Tempe, Ariz., to face the Sun Devils (59-5) in a best-of-three series for the right to advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. The powerhouses meet at Farrington Stadium, where NU has played eight games in the last five seasons.
The Cats kicked off the 2008 campaign with a win over then-No. 1 Arizona at Farrington Stadium.
“We’re comfortable with the field there,” junior shortstop Tammy Williams said. “I’ve played there the last three years, and having that experience there is really helpful. But we have to go down there and get used to the weather – it’s a little different then Chicago.”
NU faced Arizona State twice last season and was victorious on both occasions. The squad defeated the Sun Devils once in the regular season and again in the opening game of the Women’s College World Series.
But this year, Arizona State is one of the top clubs in the country and poses a serious threat to NU’s championship run.
“They’re a great team, but all the teams left are great teams,” Williams said. “No one has an easy road to Oklahoma, that’s not what it’s meant to be.”
The Sun Devils are led by a deep lineup that features five hitters with double-digit home run totals and seven regulars with batting averages above .300. Senior hurler Katie Burkhart is the team’s ace and enters the weekend 34-5 with a 0.84 ERA. The southpaw is second in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings with 11.3.
But that doesn’t intimidate NU sophomore Kelly Dyer.
Dyer faced Burkhart five times in the two Cats’ victories last year and dominated the Sun Devils’ ace. In the regular-season meeting between the clubs, Dyer went 2-for-3 and hit the first two home runs of her collegiate career, including a grand slam.
In their postseason meeting, the center fielder added two hits in her two at-bats.
“I don’t know if it’s good luck against her or just a good matchup,” she said. “But I’ve just gone in there confident, and that’s what I’ll tell everyone to do. If we go in there confident and we go in there hitting, we’ll be all right.”
The Cats come off a tough weekend in which they faced DePaul three times for the right to advance to the Super Regional. Though Drohan said the team did not play its best softball, NU won two of the games, including the deciding third game 3-2.
That victory did not come easy. The Blue Demons put runners on second and third in the final frame before Cats’ ace Lauren Delaney shut the door on the series.
“Our team really battled hard through a very, very exciting day on Sunday with DePaul,” coach Kate Drohan said. “I think we’re battle tested and battle ready. … We know what this time of year is all about, and we’re excited to try to get ourselves back to Oklahoma City.”
NU will take the field for the first game Friday at 7 p.m., and the action will continue at 3 p.m. on Saturday. A third and deciding game would follow if necessary.
