Softball

STANFORD, Calif. — Any inconsistencies Northwestern’s offense has have been covered up by the Wildcats’ stellar pitching staff.

NU pitchers allowed three runs, just one of which was earned, at the Stanford Invitational as the Cats (14-4) won three of their four games. Sophomore Kenna Wilkey and freshman Danielle Williams combined to pitch 23.2 innings without allowing an earned run.

“They continue to put us in a position to win,” coach Kate Drohan said. “Their work has been outstanding.”

Senior pitcher Kaley Winegarner started in NU’s first game on Friday against Cal Poly (3-14), and held the Mustangs scoreless for three innings before an error led to two runs in the fourth. Wilkey entered in relief after NU fell behind and did not allow a hit the rest of the game.

Freshman shortstop Maeve Nelson got the comeback started for the Cats in the fifth with a solo home run, and then NU put up a five-spot in the sixth to win 6-2. A pinch-hit, two-run double by Williams gave the Cats some much-needed breathing room.

The Cats were then shut out 1-0 on Friday evening by host Stanford (16-2) after Williams gave up an unearned run in the first inning. NU had several chances to break through, the biggest of which came in the fifth. The Cats loaded the bases with one out, but sophomore second baseman Rachel Lewis hit into a double play.

Lewis and the rest of the offense would redeem themselves on Saturday and Sunday, however. Drohan changed the lineup for Saturday’s game against North Dakota State (9-8), moving Nelson and senior first baseman Lily Novak up and dropping Lewis down to seventh.

NU responded with a 7-0 victory, highlighted by a five-run first inning that included a two-run double by freshman catcher Jordyn Rudd and a two-run blast by Lewis. Wilkey threw a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, and the Cats added single runs in the fifth and seventh.

“I haven’t had the hottest start to the year, but all the freshmen have really stepped up,” Lewis said. “I’m going in the right direction. I don’t think everything’s perfect yet, but we’re working on it.”

Drohan made more changes to the lineup on Sunday against Montana (4-16), moving senior left fielder Morgan Nelson to the bottom of the order and shifting freshman center fielder Skyler Shellmyer to the leadoff spot. Shellmyer started a rally in the third with her second hit of the game, and NU cashed it in with run-scoring hits from Maeve Nelson and freshman designated hitter Nikki Cuchran.

Lewis hit her second homer in as many games in the fourth, and back-to-back doubles by Cuchran and Rudd in the fifth accounted for the 4-0 final score. Williams dominated in the circle, allowing just three hits and striking out 12.

“We’re trying to get Morgan (Nelson) and (Lewis) going,” Drohan said. “I felt like they were just stuck. We just wanted to take some of the pressure off of them and just focus on their at-bats, and give some other people who have been really hitting the ball well a chance to get some more at-bats during the game.”

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