Every single class has its own unique flair, and this year’s seniors for Northwestern are no exception.
The Class of 2011 has accomplished a lot, including two NCAA Tournament appearances and a 2008 Big Ten regular season and tournament title on its home field. Despite all the good times they had on the field, it was their experiences off the field that are the most memorable for these NU seniors as they head into their last regular season game of the season – and maybe their final game in purple and white.
NU will face Penn State on the road Friday and Saturday.
“In general being on road trips and having fun,” pitcher Jessica Smith said, “dancing and having dance competitions in the lobby of our hotel.”
Jessica Smith
Smith had some of the toughest breaks during her time in Evanston. The pitcher, affectionately known as “Boots” for her choice of footwear off the field, suffered an injury before her sophomore season, causing her to miss the first half of the 2009 season. The California native won her first career start with a complete game two-hitter in a 14-2 six-inning win over Idaho State.
Smith set many of her personal bests during her senior campaign. She struck out 12 batters in a 6-0 victory over Loyola Chicago on April 2 and went 9.1 innings in a losing effort against Oklahoma State in February. She said one of her favorite memories on the field was the Cats’ 3-2 nine-inning victory over then-No. 11 California earlier this season, in which Smith pitched a complete game giving up only five hits and picking up the win.
“It’s indescribable,” Smith said about her experience at NU. “It’s an experience in which I’ve learned a lot about myself. (I don’t regret my decision to come here) because I wouldn’t have met the people I did and have the experiences I did.”
Jordan Wheeler
The left fielder is another senior having a career year in 2011. Wheeler is hitting .304, beating her previous career-high by almost 50 points. Wheeler is the heart and soul of NU’s team with her bubbly personality off the field and her defensive skills on the field. She has a cannon for an arm and is unafraid of running into fences to catch fly balls.
She said one of her favorite things about her time as a Wildcat is playing the outfield and running through the breakaway fences to catch fly balls at some of the West Coast tournaments NU plays in at the beginning of the season.
Kelly Quinn
Quinn is the other senior outfielder on the squad. The right fielder is hitting above her career average this season and was a second team All-Big Ten honoree in her freshman year. She was also a Academic-All-Big Ten honoree her sophomore and junior year.
Quinn said her favorite moment was a crazy game back in 2008 against the Minnesota. En route to the Big Ten regular season title, the Cats fell behind 8-2 to the Golden Gophers after three innings. NU came back in the next three innings to score 15 runs and win the game 17-8 in six innings. Quinn went 2-for-3 in the game with three RBIs and three runs scored, both career highs.
“It was awesome to see our team react and respond at a time when it would have been easy to fold,” Quinn said.
Michelle Batts
Batts will go down as one of the greatest offensive threats in NU history. She ranks in the top 5 in career home runs, walks, RBIs and slugging percentage. She is sixth in total bases and on-base percentage. Batts has also been an iron woman for the Cats, starting every single game NU has played in the last four years.
Batts was named to the All-Big Ten second team her first three years as a Wildcat and was twice named to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region team.
“This experience has molded me into the person I am today, ” Batts said. “It has taught me things I will remember for the rest of my life.”
Robin Thompson
Thompson is as tenacious as they come, and no team in the Big Ten has had a more tenacious rivalry with the Cats than Michigan; perhaps a reason that Thompson named NU’s 2009 sweep of the then No. 8 Wolverines one of her favorite memories of her collegiate career. Thompson called her time at NU “life changing” and said she just wanted to be the best she could possibly be on the field.
Thompson was a second team All-Big Ten selection in 2008 and was an Academic All-Big Ten in 2009 and 2010. She was named to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-District first-team, qualifying her to potentially become an Academic All-American.
Coach Kate Drohan said she was grateful that they chose to come to NU and that she enjoys watching her players mature in all facets of life.
“I really enjoy watching them grow as students, as softball players and as people,” Drohan said.
