Facing elite competition during its annual trip to Clearwater, Florida, Northwestern proved capable of keeping pace with its formidable opponents, but still came away with a 1-4 record over the weekend.
Upon their arrival in the Sunshine State, the Wildcats (4-6, 0-0 Big Ten) were thrown immediately into the lion’s den, tasked with facing No. 1 Texas Tech on Thursday.
Sophomore pitcher Emma Blea — who pitched just 20.1 innings as a rookie last season — earned the start against the Red Raiders (8-0, 0-0 Big 12) and conceded two earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched.
Coach Kate Drohan’s squad ultimately fell 5-0, with three of those runs resulting from errors by senior infielder Bridget Donahey and freshman infielder Tru Medina.
NU’s best scoring chance came in the second inning when it loaded the bases on a Texas Tech error, a hit by pitch and a walk before graduate student infielder Grace Nieto popped out to end the inning.
Hoping to lick their wounds after the shutout defeat, the ’Cats found no such luck during their Friday morning matchup with UCF, falling 6-4 despite a comeback effort.
In that contest, NU fell behind 6-1 in the second inning, but was able to cut the deficit to two runs in the third and fourth frames due, in part, to the Knights’ defensive miscues.
Drohan’s group had three more hits than UCF in the loss, with both senior outfielder Kelsey Nader and junior catcher Emma Raye delivering two-hit performances.
After back-to-back losses, the ’Cats found redemption in a 3-0 shutout over Missouri on Saturday morning. Freshman pitcher Marina Mason tossed seven scoreless innings to lead the team to its first and only win of the weekend.
As Mason held the Tigers to just two hits, her teammates erupted for 10 hits at the plate. With two outs and a runner on base in the third inning, NU strung together two hits and a walk to plate two runs. Then, it tacked on a sixth-inning insurance run when senior infielder Kansas Robinson capitalized on Medina’s stolen base with an RBI single.
Following the mid-weekend win, the ’Cats fell to two more ranked foes in No. 17 Georgia and No. 8 Texas A&M to close out their time in Clearwater.
In a Saturday afternoon clash with the Bulldogs, NU’s winning chances were plagued by its opponent’s seven-run fourth inning. With junior pitcher Riley Grudzielanek on the mound, Georgia opened the frame with a single, then reached base on a fielding error before a three-run home run cleared the bases.
Then, after the Bulldogs loaded the bases again with back-to-back hits and a fielder’s choice play, a grand slam buried the ’Cats in a hole they could never climb out of.
NU managed to score three runs in the sixth inning thanks to a Georgia fielding error and a two-RBI single by Robinson, but it still lost 8-3.
Looking to salvage a losing weekend, the ’Cats seemed poised to pull off an upset victory when they established a five-run lead in the third inning of a Sunday showdown with the Aggies. In that frame, sophomore outfielder Kaylie Avvisato blasted NU’s lone home run of the weekend, a three-run shot scoring Nader and Nieto.
But, unfortunately for Drohan’s group, the substantial lead wasn’t enough to stave off a slow-and-steady Texas A&M comeback effort. The ’Cats committed two more fielding errors in the 6-5 Sunday loss, one of which resulted in an unearned run.
So far this season, NU has been afflicted by its own defensive miscues as it has recorded 15 errors — among the worst in the Big Ten — over 10 games.
At bat, the ’Cats struck out 29 times this weekend and 58 times this season. They are tied with Washington for the highest strikeout rate in the conference.
Following a weekend of tough competition and lackluster results in Florida, NU will next travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Razorback Invitational, beginning Friday. There, it will play three games against Arkansas and two against Southeast Missouri State.
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