Northwestern’s offense is predicated on forcing the defense into making mistakes.
The Wildcats (16-9, 0-2 Big Ten) will have a difficult time getting help from defensive errors when DePaul comes to town on Tuesday. The Blue Demons (20-10, 5-1 Big East) are second-best in the nation in fielding percentage heading into the game. The Cats are 7-9 when their opponent makes one error or fewer but are 9-0 when their opponent makes multiple errors.
“The key will be pitch selection,” coach Kate Drohan said. “It’s a combination of us controlling our at-bats and finding the right pitch. We need to put the ball in play. A lot of their success comes from their pitching.”
That will put a lot of pressure on the Wildcat offense to find other ways to reach base. Nobody in the country is better at getting on base than junior first baseman Adrienne Monka. Monka reached in 75 percent of her plate appearances against Loyola (Chicago) this weekend, raising her on-base percentage to .674.
However, getting on base is only half the battle. The Cats stranded 18 batters over the two games on Saturday and hit 7-for-20 with runners in scoring position. Take out a five-run inning in the second game, and they went 3-for-15 in such situations.
The Cats’ offense forced six Rambler errors in their sweep of a doubleheader against Loyola on Saturday. The primary example was the fourth inning of the first game, in which NU sent all nine batters to the plate and scored three runs. In that inning the Ramblers made two errors and gave up only one hit, a leadoff single.
“We put a lot of pressure on their defense,” Drohan said. “That opened up a lot for us because they were forced to hurry some of their throws.”
The key to the Cats’ offensive pressure is the speed and slapping ability they possess at the top and bottom of their lineup. Leadoff hitter Emily Allard is a great example of the type of player NU wants at the top of their lineup. The sophomore shortstop is hitting above .500 for the season and is ranked second in the nation in steals per game.
Allard demonstrated in the victories over Loyola just how dangerous she is at the plate and on the base paths. She went 5-for-8 at the dish over the weekend and stole four bases. While Allard said the stolen bases give the team an extra boost, she said the key to her hitting is believing in herself.
“The more hits you get, the more confidence you have,” she said. “I did a good job of trusting myself at the plate.”
