Close, but no cigar. Those four words have summed up Northwestern’s season thus far.
The Wildcats (22-15, 4-8 Big Ten) are 7-10 in games decided by less than two runs and 2-6 in Big Ten games decided by that same margin.
Coach Kate Drohan said the key to winning those close games is to play the same from start to finish.
“We need to put together a complete game,” Drohan said. “It’s getting that big pitch and the big hit and playing a high-energy game.”
To make matters worse for the Cats, they have held a lead in 10 of their 12 Big Ten games, yet they have only been able to hold on for the victory four times.
Of those six leads they lost, they had been leading or tied at the end of five innings four times.
Sophomore shortstop Emily Allard said the key to NU finishing games is to keep its eyes on the prize.
“We need to keep our foot on the gas pedal and play exactly the same way we did in getting the lead,” Allard said.
The Cats’ last two series have been polar opposites of one another. Against Ohio State on April 23 and 24, NU jumped on top early and never looked back. Against Illinois over the weekend, the Cats and Fighting Illini were unable to pull away from each other, with neither team ever holding a lead of more than three runs.
Drohan said the key difference between the two series was NU’s ability to get that important clutch hit.
“Hitting is the most exciting part of our game,” she said. “We need to be mentally tough and mentally ready.”
NU heads into Wednesday’s doubleheader against Minnesota (28-21, 6-8) needing two wins to strengthen its résumé for the NCAA Tournament in two weeks.
Allard said the players aren’t feeling any pressure to get back to the tourney, and they just need to focus on playing the way they are capable of.
“I wouldn’t consider it pressure,” Allard said. “I would consider it a challenge and opportunity for us to play the way we know we can play.”
NU had its seven-year streak of NCAA Tournament appearances snapped last season, despite its top-four finish in conference play.
This year, the Cats sit ninth in conference but have the fourth-best overall winning percentage in the Big Ten – a puzzle that is sure to put NU squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.
Kelly Quinn, who has tasted the success of going to the NCAA Tournament, said these past two seasons have not lived up to the expectations NU softball holds itself to.
The senior right fielder said the players
are not worrying about whether they will be in the field for the NCAA Tournament but on trying to beat the Golden Gophers on Wednesday.
“Our focus isn’t on whether or not we make the NCAA Tournament,” Quinn said. “Our focus is solely on the six games we have left that we can control.”
