Saturday, February 15
Clearwater, FL
9:30 a.m. CT
Northwestern
3-4
5
vs
4
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Kansas
1-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Northwestern
0
0
2
0
3
0
0
5
8
3
Kansas
0
1
1
2
0
0
0
4
7
1
'Cats Earn Top-5 Win in Doubleheader Sweep
2/15/2020 5:21:00 PM | Softball
CLEARWATER, Fla. – No. 21 Northwestern swept its Saturday doubleheader at the ESPN St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational with a 5-4 comeback victory over Kansas followed by a 6-2 win over No. 5 Florida State.
The victory over the Seminoles marks the Wildcats' first top-five victory since defeating No. 2 Michigan, 13-12, on March 25, 2016.
Against the Jayhawks, the Wildcats rallied with three runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 5-4 lead. From there, Kaley Winegarner came through with 3.2 innings of masterful relief pitching, striking out six batters to secure her second victory of the season.
Later in the afternoon vs. the Seminoles, the 'Cats put together a similar late-inning rally in the top of the sixth, scoring five runs to give Danielle Williams a four-run lead. In her best outing of the season, Williams allowed just two hits and struck out a season-high 11 batters while allowing only one earned run.
In both of the games, Morgan Newport drove in the eventual game-winning RBI.
After falling behind, 1-0, early vs. Kansas, Rachel Lewis jumpstarted the offense with a two-run homer in the top of the third, her second long ball of the season. Lewis finished the game 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored.
Kansas responded with three runs to take a 4-2 lead, but the 'Cats punched back in the fifth inning. Following a lead-off double from Lewis, Jordyn Rudd knocked in her seventh RBI of the season with a single to left field to cut the deficit to one. Later in the inning, Maeve Nelson drove in Emma Bartz after battling through an incredible at-bat which ended with a double to the center field wall to even the score. The next at-bat, Newport put the 'Cats ahead with a sacrifice fly to score Sammy Stanley.
Sydney Supple made her first-career start and allowed one earned run in 3.1 innings of work. Winegarner took over in relief and allowed just two hits in 3.2 innings while striking out six, her most strikeouts in a game since March 16, 2019 against Toledo.
Rudd went 3-for-4 with an RBI in game one, marking the fourth three-hit game of her career and her first of the 2020 season.
The fifth-ranked Seminoles took an early 2-0 lead after a solo home run in the bottom of the second and an unearned run in the fifth inning off a single. Those two scoring plays were the only hits surrendered by Williams in the game.
Kenna Wilkey provided the spark for the 'Cats' offense in game two, belting a solo home run to center field on the first pitch of the fifth inning, her first of the season.
NU loaded the bases with the first three runners reaching to open the top of the sixth before Newport came up clutch yet again, driving in two with a single to left field to give the Wildcats the lead.
Lewis provided three key insurance runs with two outs in the top of the sixth, clearing the bases with a double to right-center to score Nelson, Newport and Gracie Huff.
Huff reached base three times against the Seminoles, going 2-for-2 with a walk for the first multi-hit game of her career.
Williams' 11 strikeouts were her most in a game since she fanned 13 at Minnesota in a 1-0 victory on May 3, 2019. Her outing on Saturday also marked the first time she allowed two hits while pitching a complete game since May 18, 2019 in the Evanston Regional vs. Louisville.
Northwestern wraps up its stay at the SPC Elite Invitational tomorrow with a matchup vs. Virginia Tech beginning at 11 a.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
The victory over the Seminoles marks the Wildcats' first top-five victory since defeating No. 2 Michigan, 13-12, on March 25, 2016.
Against the Jayhawks, the Wildcats rallied with three runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 5-4 lead. From there, Kaley Winegarner came through with 3.2 innings of masterful relief pitching, striking out six batters to secure her second victory of the season.
Later in the afternoon vs. the Seminoles, the 'Cats put together a similar late-inning rally in the top of the sixth, scoring five runs to give Danielle Williams a four-run lead. In her best outing of the season, Williams allowed just two hits and struck out a season-high 11 batters while allowing only one earned run.
In both of the games, Morgan Newport drove in the eventual game-winning RBI.
After falling behind, 1-0, early vs. Kansas, Rachel Lewis jumpstarted the offense with a two-run homer in the top of the third, her second long ball of the season. Lewis finished the game 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored.
Kansas responded with three runs to take a 4-2 lead, but the 'Cats punched back in the fifth inning. Following a lead-off double from Lewis, Jordyn Rudd knocked in her seventh RBI of the season with a single to left field to cut the deficit to one. Later in the inning, Maeve Nelson drove in Emma Bartz after battling through an incredible at-bat which ended with a double to the center field wall to even the score. The next at-bat, Newport put the 'Cats ahead with a sacrifice fly to score Sammy Stanley.
Sydney Supple made her first-career start and allowed one earned run in 3.1 innings of work. Winegarner took over in relief and allowed just two hits in 3.2 innings while striking out six, her most strikeouts in a game since March 16, 2019 against Toledo.
Rudd went 3-for-4 with an RBI in game one, marking the fourth three-hit game of her career and her first of the 2020 season.
The fifth-ranked Seminoles took an early 2-0 lead after a solo home run in the bottom of the second and an unearned run in the fifth inning off a single. Those two scoring plays were the only hits surrendered by Williams in the game.
Kenna Wilkey provided the spark for the 'Cats' offense in game two, belting a solo home run to center field on the first pitch of the fifth inning, her first of the season.
NU loaded the bases with the first three runners reaching to open the top of the sixth before Newport came up clutch yet again, driving in two with a single to left field to give the Wildcats the lead.
Lewis provided three key insurance runs with two outs in the top of the sixth, clearing the bases with a double to right-center to score Nelson, Newport and Gracie Huff.
Huff reached base three times against the Seminoles, going 2-for-2 with a walk for the first multi-hit game of her career.
Williams' 11 strikeouts were her most in a game since she fanned 13 at Minnesota in a 1-0 victory on May 3, 2019. Her outing on Saturday also marked the first time she allowed two hits while pitching a complete game since May 18, 2019 in the Evanston Regional vs. Louisville.
Northwestern wraps up its stay at the SPC Elite Invitational tomorrow with a matchup vs. Virginia Tech beginning at 11 a.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Winegarner, Kaley (2-0)
L: Reed (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Lewis, Rachel 1 ; Rudd, Jordyn 1 ; Nelson, Maeve 1 ; Huff, Parker 1
HR: Lewis, Rachel 1
RBI: Lewis, Rachel 2 ; Rudd, Jordyn 1 ; Nelson, Maeve 1 ; Newport, Morgan 1
SH: Shellmyer, Skyler 1 ; Dunlap, Mac 1
SF: Newport, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lewis, Rachel 2 ; Bartz, Emma 1 ; Stanley, Sammy 1 ; Huff, Parker 1
HBP: Cuchran, Nikki 1 ; Zedak, Angela 1
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Batting:
HR: Wynne 1
RBI: Jackson 2 ; Wynne 1 ; Monaghan 1
SH: Dellinger 1 ; Sykes 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wynne 1 ; Sykes 1 ; Hughston 1 ; Omli 1
HBP: Monaghan 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
P/U
/ SoftballC/U
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P/U
/ Softball
P
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