Northwestern Takes Hot Bats on Road to Rutgers

4/19/2018 4:29:00 PM | Softball

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL: Rutgers Series
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	COVERAGE	LIVE STATS
Friday, April 20	Rutgers	2 p.m. CT/ 3 p.m. ET	Piscataway, N.J.	BTN Plus Stream	Live Stats
Saturday, April 21	Rutgers	Noon CT/ 1 p.m. ET	Piscataway, N.J.	BTN Plus Stream	Live Stats
Sunday, April 22	Rutgers	11 a.m. CT/ Noon ET	Piscataway, N.J.	BTN Plus Stream	Live Stats
Wednesday, April 25	Loyola (Chicago)	4 p.m.	Evanston, Ill.	BTN Plus Stream	Live Stats
Social: Twitter (@NUSBCats and @NU_SportsLive) \| Instagram (nusbcats) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern \| TICKETS

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Fresh off a sweep of No. 22 Ohio State at home and a big road win at Notre Dame last week, Northwestern takes its red-hot bats on the road this weekend for an April 20-22 series at Rutgers.

This trip marks the Wildcats first trip to Piscataway to face the Scarlet Knights in conference play. The opening game of the series begins at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET Friday, April 20, followed by a noon CT/1 p.m. ET first pitch Saturday and an 11 a.m. CT/noon ET start Sunday. All three games will be streamed live via BTN Plus on BTN2Go; Friday's game will be a full Student U production while the weekend contests will be single-camera streams.

Northwestern has won four straight entering this weekend, and it has done so with eye-popping offensive statistics. The Wildcats are averaging 12.3 runs per game over their last four outings, and have scored in 19 of their 25 offensive innings during that stretch. Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Marissa Panko is leading the charge with a .667 average over the last four games, while Morgan Nelson has been driving in droves. She is batting .583 and slugging 1.500 with three homers and 10 RBIs over NU's last four.

Meanwhile, first-year Rachel Lewis continues to put up star-worthy numbers. She now ranks sixth in the nation with 1.28 RBIs per game, 11th with 0.36 home runs per game and 19th with 1.03 runs scored per game. On Thursday, she was named one of 25 candidates for the Schutt Sports/NFCA National Freshman of the Year Award. She is one of just two Big Ten student-athletes to make the list.

As a team, the Wildcats have vaulted up to 15th in the country in scoring with an average of 6.23 runs per game. Northwestern is seventh in the nation with 2.28 stolen bases per contest.

In the circle, first-year Kenna Wilkey is doing yeoman's work. She has recorded every out during the current winning streak to run her season record to 12-4. Luckily, her teammates have had her back: three of Northwestern's last four games have ended early via the run-rule.

After the trip to Rutgers, Northwestern returns to Evanston for its final homestand of the season at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. Loyola (Chicago) kicks things off with a 4 p.m. first pitch Wednesday, April 25, before Iowa comes to town for Senior Weekend April 27-29.

Following the Saturday, April 25, game versus the Hawkeyes, Northwestern will host its 12th-annual Purple Auction at the Segal Visitor Center on the main campus starting at 6:30 p.m. This event brings together current players, former players, stakeholders, friends and family of our program to celebrate the rich tradition and exciting future of Northwestern Softball.

NORTHWESTERN SOFTBALL HOME TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

NU's best home schedule in recent memory concludes next week against Loyola (Chicago) and then Iowa April 27-29 during Senior Weekend. Tickets are available NOW!

PROGRAMMING NOTE

Below is a coverage schedule for the remainder of the season. In addition to this coverage, EVERY GAME will have live stats and live tweets at NUsports.com and @NUSBCats on Twitter.

RUTGERS SERIES (April 20-22)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go. For BTN Plus on BTN2Go, Cost is $9.95 for a monthly pass for Northwestern games.

IOWA SERIES (April 27-29)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

WISCONSIN SERIES (May 4-6)
All games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go

NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Both home games will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go. Both away games will have Studio N audio, which is a subscription product. Cost is $3.95 for a 24-hour pass.

PLAY BALL!
For a complete season preview and notes on this weekend's Rutgers series, download our Game Notes available here and in the chart at the top of this page.