Northwestern relies on three pitchers to carry the team’s innings workload.

With limited options in the circle, the small rotation understands its responsibility to give the Wildcats a lift.

“There’s a lot more pressure with every pitch,” freshman hurler Amy Letourneau said of her transition to college softball.

Letourneau, sophomore Sammy Albanese and junior Meghan Lamberth have pitched all but 3.2 innings for the Cats, with mixed results. NU currently ranks ninth in the Big Ten with a 4.07 earned run average, though the team has played a rigorous schedule packed with 11 ranked opponents.

Despite holding competitors to a paltry .261 batting average, the Cats have struggled with their control, walking a Big Ten-worst 169 hitters. In last Wednesday’s 7-2 victory over the University of Illinois at Chicago, NU struggled to close out the game after walking eight batters, seven by Letourneau.

Letourneau attributed her high walk numbers