Sophomore outfielder Isabel Cunnea leapt into the air, clicking her heels and wagging her fingers to signal that Northwestern had secured its second out in the first inning of Tuesday’s cross-town showdown against UIC.
She dove toward the foul line and made a full-extension catch in shallow left field. Cunnea didn’t know it then, but that play would prove imperative to sophomore pitcher Riley Grudzielanek’s first career no-hitter as the Wildcats (25-15-1, 12-4 Big Ten) rolled past the Flames (8-39-0, 4-16 Missouri Valley) 11-0 in five innings.
On a day when coach Kate Drohan’s squad only managed five hits at the plate, it took advantage of 10 free bases from walks and two UIC defensive miscues to secure its fifth straight win.
Following a scoreless opening two frames, the ’Cats got on the board in the top of the third inning when freshman outfielder Avery Garden homered to center field. Junior outfielder Kelsey Nader then tacked on another run, scoring on an error.
Up 2-0 in the fourth, NU reached run-rule territory with an eight-run effort, assisted by UIC walking in four-straight runners.
Cunnea had the game-defining inning’s lone hit, scoring sophomore infielder Grace Minarovic and Nader in the process.
Then, both Cunnea and junior infielder Kansas Robinson scored on the same wild pitch play: The first on the pitch itself and the second when the catcher launched an errant flip from the backstop that rolled up the first-base line.
In the fifth and final inning, Garden scored on a groundout by sophomore outfielder Hannah Cushing.
Grudzielanek recorded five strikeouts and allowed just four batters to reach base in the no-hitter.
Prior to Tuesday’s contest, NU had not recorded a no-hitter since two-time All-American Danielle Williams tossed one against Stanford in March 2022.
Following the win, NU will host Wisconsin on Friday at 4 p.m. for the first of three games in its final home series of the regular season.
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