Just playing one, or two or three games in a three-day weekend wouldn’t be enough for the Wildcats. So they play five.
Two weeks ago, Northwestern (8-6) played in Las Vegas, last week it Cathedral City, Calif., and this week, NU will be in Columbus, Ga. Regardless of the location, a lot of softball will be played.
“You go into these weekends knowing that you’re gonna see a lot of different pitchers, you’re going to see a lot of different teams,” senior shortstop Tammy Williams said. “And you’re going to have to prepare for all of them.”
The routine is pretty much the same. NU arrives on Thursday, plays a double-header on Friday, and then plays another double-header on Saturday. On Sunday, the team plays one game and flies back to Evanston.
“By the end of the weekend, we’ll be mentally tired, but we can’t get into that and let it start affecting us before we even start,” junior pitcher Lauren Delaney said. “You have to take it one step at a time, you can’t get too far ahead of yourself.”
Delaney pitched all 34 of the innings of the Cathedral City Classic last week, when the Cats compiled a 2-3 record. Kelly Dyer also appeared inside the circle, but did not record any outs.
“I think we have prepared ourselves as a team to face that,” Delaney said. “It’s difficult mentally, but you really just can’t let that bother you.”
The consensus is that the team’s preparation renders the physical stress of five games in three days unnoticeable.
“That’s what we train for all fall, getting our endurance, so we can play those tough games all day, ” Williams said. “In that moment, we’re not worried. You’re really not thinking about how tired you are. You just know that you’re going to go hard every pitch.”
The turnaround between games is swift. As opposed to the traditional day-night doubleheader baseball fans are used to, the softball team plays day-day doubleheaders. Saturday features a 12:30 p.m. matchup with Long Island University, who beat NU last week 11-6, and a 3:00 p.m. matchup with Georgia Tech.
“It’s definitely more difficult than playing one game in one day, but it’s not too bad,” freshman Adrienne Monka said. “You just have to go get treatment if you need it, if something’s bothering you. We always ice our feet after games to keep them ready for the next game.”
During the conference season, the Cats generally play teams in multiple-day series, or occasionally in a single mid-week doubleheader. But for now, the team has to play games in rapid-fire succession and has to prepare accordingly.
“Before the first game, we’re warming up,” Williams said. “For the second game, you focus more on the team we’re going to play and what we need to do to beat them, since you’ve already played that first team that day.”
The team can’t allow the games to blend together – especially on days like today, when NU plays two nationally ranked teams, No. 20 LSU and No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette.
“When we get there, we can take what we have to do one game, one pitch at a time,” Delaney said. “You just have to play as hard as you can. That’s all you can do.”
