Northwestern’s 2010 season has been a 10-game roller coaster. After the Wildcats won their first two games at the Kajikawa Classic in Arizona, they dropped five in a row. No. 23 NU came surging back and now sits at an even 5-5 after outscoring their last three opponents 23-5.
This inconsistency is what coach Kate Drohan’s squad will be looking to turn around this weekend at the Cathedral City Classic in California. The tournament, hosted by by Oregon State University, is made up of 30 teams, including 12 of the top 25 squads in the nation.
The Cats take on Pacific and No. 10 Stanford Friday in a day-night doubleheader. NU faces Cal Poly and No. 5 UCLA Saturday, then finishes the weekend Sunday afternoon against UC Davis.
NU will look to step up its performance early in the tournament matchups. The Cats are 2-4 when their opponents score first.
“We’re giving up too many runs early in the game,” Drohan said. “We’re giving up too many bases defensively.”
Gaining consistency will start with the pitching staff. The Cats allowed 12 runs in their first two games at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic last weekend and then gave up only five runs in their next three contests. The pressure to shore up the staff is hightened because of upcoming matchups against Stanford (8-1) and UCLA (10-1). Stanford has a team batting average of .378 through its first nine games, while UCLA has outscored its opponents 95-10.
Though senior ace Lauren Delaney will lead the pitching attack this weekend, junior Jessica Smith and freshman Meghan Lamberth have emerged as strong options to take the mound.
Smith in particular has given NU more flexibility with its staff, going 3-0 with a 1.62 ERA so far in 2010. Against UNLV on Saturday, Smith tossed a three-hit shutout in the Cats’ 8-0 victory.
“We’ve been mixing it up a lot and splitting games, trying to keep teams off balance,” Smith said.
The offense has hinged on senior catcher Emily Haug, who is hitting .407 with 11 RBIs this season.
“Haug has been our quiet giant here these last two weekends,” Drohan said. “She’s been incredibly consistent for us. Anyone in the lineup who gets hot and comes up with that one big, clutch hit at the right time can really spark a whole lot of offense for us.”
Sophomore Adrienne Monka’s continued success will also be essential for the Cats to extend their three-game winning streak. The first baseman hit .583 with a 1.417 slugging percentage last weekend in Las Vegas and earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors. It is the second year in a row Monka has won the award following a weekend tournament in Sin City.
“It’s just a good vibe I get in Vegas,” Monka said.
For the lineup to stay hot against two top-10 teams this weekend, Monka can’t let what happened in Vegas stay in Vegas.[email protected]
