Friday, February 21
Palm Springs, CA
Noon CT
Northwestern
4-6
4
vs
6
Auburn
9-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Auburn
0
2
1
2
1
0
0
6
7
1
Northwestern
2
0
2
0
0
0
0
4
5
4
Wildcats Drop SEC Doubleheader to Open Mary Nutter Classic
2/21/2020 10:40:00 PM | Softball
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – No. 25 Northwestern opened the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a pair of narrow setbacks to SEC foes.
The Wildcats dropped a 6-4 decision to Auburn on Friday morning, followed by a 3-2 setback to No. 7 Florida on a walk-off single.
The 'Cats started fast in the morning matchup vs. Auburn with a leadoff double from the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, Rachel Lewis. Lewis later scored on a sac fly via Jordyn Rudd, her 10th RBI on the young season. The 'Cats added another run later in the inning on an RBI-double from Nikki Cuchran to bring around Maeve Nelson.
After falling behind to the Tigers, 3-2, the Wildcats responded with two home runs in the bottom of the third to re-take the lead. Lewis led off the inning with her third home run of the year on a line drive over the left field fence. Two batters later, Nelson launched a ball to deep field for her second home run of the season.
Kaley Winegarner started the morning game in the circle and allowed three unearned runs in 2.1 innings. After coming on in relief, Danielle Williams finished the game retiring seven-consecutive batters.
Lewis and Cuchran had strong days at the plate in the morning game, both notching two hits, a double, and an RBI. Nelson reached base in all three at-bats, with one home run and two walks.
In the afternoon matchup against the seventh-ranked Gators, the Wildcats finished with 10 hits, their highest output of the season. Syndey Supple made her second-career start in the circle and fired 6.0 innings, allowing just five hits while striking out four. The rookie southpaw from Oshkosh, Wisc. stymied one of the nation's top offenses for much of the afternoon, not allowing a run in her first 5.1 innings of work.
Supple also contributed at the plate, giving the 'Cats a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning with an RBI-single through the right side to score Sammy Stanley. The hit marked the first of Supple's career.
After the Gators evened the score in the bottom of the sixth, Northwestern punched back in the next frame after Jordyn Rudd opened the top of the seventh with a double and was driven in by Morgan Newport to give the Wildcats a 2-1 advantage. However, Florida would plate two runs in the bottom of the seventh off a bloop single to right field.
Newport finished with two hits against the Gators, as well as Cuchran and Skyler Shellmyer. Rachel Lewis also went 1-for-3 against Florida to extend her hitting streak to a team-high eight games. Lewis and Cuchran have now reached base in all 11 of the Wildcats' games to start the season.
Northwestern will be back in action on Saturday with two more games at the Mary Nutter Classic. The Wildcats face off against #15 Oregon in the morning at 11:30 a.m. CT, before taking on Long Beach State at 2 p.m. CT. Fans can stream all the games on FloSoftball.
••••••
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 Wildcats dropped a 6-4 decision to Auburn on Friday morning, followed by a 3-2 setback to No. 7 Florida on a walk-off single.
The 'Cats started fast in the morning matchup vs. Auburn with a leadoff double from the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, Rachel Lewis. Lewis later scored on a sac fly via Jordyn Rudd, her 10th RBI on the young season. The 'Cats added another run later in the inning on an RBI-double from Nikki Cuchran to bring around Maeve Nelson.
After falling behind to the Tigers, 3-2, the Wildcats responded with two home runs in the bottom of the third to re-take the lead. Lewis led off the inning with her third home run of the year on a line drive over the left field fence. Two batters later, Nelson launched a ball to deep field for her second home run of the season.
Kaley Winegarner started the morning game in the circle and allowed three unearned runs in 2.1 innings. After coming on in relief, Danielle Williams finished the game retiring seven-consecutive batters.
Lewis and Cuchran had strong days at the plate in the morning game, both notching two hits, a double, and an RBI. Nelson reached base in all three at-bats, with one home run and two walks.
In the afternoon matchup against the seventh-ranked Gators, the Wildcats finished with 10 hits, their highest output of the season. Syndey Supple made her second-career start in the circle and fired 6.0 innings, allowing just five hits while striking out four. The rookie southpaw from Oshkosh, Wisc. stymied one of the nation's top offenses for much of the afternoon, not allowing a run in her first 5.1 innings of work.
Supple also contributed at the plate, giving the 'Cats a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning with an RBI-single through the right side to score Sammy Stanley. The hit marked the first of Supple's career.
After the Gators evened the score in the bottom of the sixth, Northwestern punched back in the next frame after Jordyn Rudd opened the top of the seventh with a double and was driven in by Morgan Newport to give the Wildcats a 2-1 advantage. However, Florida would plate two runs in the bottom of the seventh off a bloop single to right field.
Newport finished with two hits against the Gators, as well as Cuchran and Skyler Shellmyer. Rachel Lewis also went 1-for-3 against Florida to extend her hitting streak to a team-high eight games. Lewis and Cuchran have now reached base in all 11 of the Wildcats' games to start the season.
Northwestern will be back in action on Saturday with two more games at the Mary Nutter Classic. The Wildcats face off against #15 Oregon in the morning at 11:30 a.m. CT, before taking on Long Beach State at 2 p.m. CT. Fans can stream all the games on FloSoftball.
••••••
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: Rylee Trlicek (6-0)
L: Supple, Sydney (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Rudd, Jordyn 1 ; Cuchran, Nikki 1
RBI: Newport, Morgan 1 ; Supple, Sydney 1
SH: Shellmyer, Skyler 1 ; Cuchran, Nikki 1 ; Schultz, Ashley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rudd, Jordyn 1 ; Stanley, Sammy 1
HBP: Rudd, Jordyn 1
Batting:
HR: Kendyl Lindaman 1
RBI: Hannah Adams 2 ; Kendyl Lindaman 1
SH: Hannah Sipos 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kendyl Lindaman 1 ; Cheyenne Lindsey 1 ; Sophia Reynoso 1
HBP: Sophia Reynoso 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ SoftballIF/OF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballP/U
/ Softball
C/U
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/U
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballSoftball - Lauren Boyd Tosses Complete Game Shutout, 'Cats Blank Kentucky in NCAA Regional (5/16/25)
Friday, May 16
Softball - 'Cats Storm Back, Secure Series Victory at No. 8 UCLA (5/4/25)
Sunday, May 04
Softball - 'Cats Earn 8-0 Run-Rule Win at No. 8 UCLA (5/2/25)
Saturday, May 03
Softball - Kaylie Avvisato Hits Walk-Off Home Run, 'Cats Take Series vs. Wisconsin (4/27/25)
Sunday, April 27
