No. 17 Northwestern faced numerous top teams in its last three tournaments. As the only ranked team in the Southern Illinois Invitational field, however, the Wildcats will enter their next tournament as the presumptive favorites.

NU (10-4, 0-0 Big Ten) had mixed results at last weekend’s Mary Nutter Classic, posting victories against teams such as then-No. 5 Washington and No. 9 Oregon but dropping games against Cal State Fullerton and Texas Tech. Coach Kate Drohan hopes for more consistent results across this weekend’s slate of five games.

“When I saw our team on Tuesday’s practice, after an off day, they were outstanding,” Drohan said. “Really locked in, really focused on the adjustments that we were working on.”

The Cats’ tournament schedule will be bookended by showdowns against Northern Kentucky (7-7, 0-0 Horizon League). These two games will be NU’s first against the Norse in program history. Northern Kentucky has lost three consecutive games by a combined score of 32-1.

After that, the Cats will continue their tournament run against Murray State (9-5, 0-0 Ohio Valley), another first-time opponent for NU. With two new foes right off the bat, Drohan said the Cats’ scouting efforts have been as valuable as ever.

“We’ve done a lot of work and we’ve tried to get as much information as we can,” Drohan said. “We know what we know, and we’re going to have to go into it with our best stuff.”

The Racers’ offense is propelled by Logan Braundmeier, who leads Murray State in hits (19), home runs (3) and RBIs (15). Braundmeier is one of six Racers with double-digit hits this season.

Tournament host Southern Illinois (6-6, 0-0 Missouri Valley) will stand in NU’s way in the second half of Saturday’s doubleheader. The last time the Salukis faced Big Ten opposition was in 2020, when they lost to Ohio State and Purdue early in the season but defeated Michigan State 2-1 right before COVID-19 canceled the remainder of their games.

The game also has personal significance for senior catcher Jordyn Rudd. Rudd’s younger sister Alexis is a pitcher and designated player for Southern Illinois. The sisters were high school teammates in 2018, but they will take the field wearing opposing uniforms this time. Drohan believes the Rudd family will have a large contingent in attendance.

“The big reason why we’re coming to this tournament is so that they could play against each other,” Drohan said. “It’s going to be a neat opportunity for Alexis and Jordan, and for the whole family.”

The fourth and final opponent is Ball State (4-6, 0-0 Mid-American). The Cats own a 9-3 all-time series record against the Cardinals — their last meeting came in 2015, a 13-0 blowout for NU.

Drohan, who referred to last weekend’s final two games as an “emotional hangover,” is confident her squad can finish the weekend stronger this time.

“Our team made it pretty clear when they showed up for practice on Tuesday that they were ready to go,” Drohan said. “I’m not concerned.”

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Twitter: @nathanjansell

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