Northwestern
5-5
UT Arlington
4-7
Wildcats Close Weekend Strong at Purple & Gold Challenge
2/16/2025 2:19:00 PM | Softball
BATON ROUGE, La. – Northwestern capped off its weekend at LSU's Purple & Gold Challenge with an emphatic 11-3 run-rule victory over UT Arlington on Sunday. The 'Cats registered a season-best 14 hits across eight different players, powered by a seven-run explosion in the fifth inning.
The Wildcats took two of five games over the weekend, winning both of their matchups against UT Arlington while dropping games vs. No. 18 Virginia Tech and a pair against the hosts, No. 7 LSU. Northwestern now sits at 5-5 on the season, with six of its first 10 games coming against opponents ranked in the Top 20. Two weeks into the season, Wildcats have already surpassed their number of ranked matchups from the 2024 regular season (5).
Kaylie Avvisato continued her torrid start to her collegiate career, recording a team-high six hits while hitting .353 (6-for-17) with three RBI and two runs scored. Avvisato posted a three-hit game on Sunday against UT Arlington, already her third three-hit performance through just 10 games. The rookie from Leesburg, Virginia leads the Wildcats with a .455 batting average, a 1.107 OPS, a .636 slugging percentage and four extra-base hits on the season.
Grace Nieto led the Wildcats with a .462 on-base percentage and a .417 batting average (5-for-12) over the weekend. Nieto paced the Wildcats' offense in their 6-1 win over the Mavericks on Saturday, tying her career highs in hits (3) and RBI (2). It marked Nieto's second three-hit game of the season, as well as her first multi-RBI game since driving in two in the Wildcats' win over Oakland in the NCAA Evanston Regional on May 20, 2022. Nieto followed up that performance on Sunday going 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Kansas Robinson posted a career day at the plate on Sunday, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored. Robinson's four hits are a career high, and the first four-hit game by a Wildcat since Angela Zedak did so at Illinois on April 9, 2024.
Each of the Wildcats' 11 runs on Sunday were provided via extra-base hits. Robinson started off the scoring in the first inning with a one-out double to bring home Avvisato. After the Mavericks evened the score in the bottom of the first, Bridget Donahey put the 'Cats back on top with a solo home run to center field, her first on the year. NU added to its lead in the fourth inning with a clutch string of two-out hitting, capped off by a Kelsey Nader triple down the right field line to drive in Ayana Lindsey and Nieto.
Northwestern erupted for seven runs on seven hits in the top of the fifth inning, jumpstarted by a one-out double from Emma Raye to drive in Robinson. Avery Garden kept the offense going with a three-run home run to right field, the first home run of her career, to extend the NU lead to 8-2. The very next at-bat, Ainsley Muno went back-to-back, hitting a pinch hit solo home run to center field for her first long ball of the season. The 'Cats kept the fifth inning rally going with a two-out triple from Avvisato, followed by Robinson's second double of the morning.
Riley Grudzielanek earned the win for the Wildcats on Sunday, tossing 5.0 innings while allowing just one earned run and four hits. It marks Grudzielanek's second complete game of the season. At the plate, Grudzielanek appeared in all five games and hit .273 (3-for-11) over the weekend.
On Saturday, Signe Dohse made her first-career start in the circle in game one vs. UT Arlington and tossed a gem, allowing just two hits and one run in 5.0 innings of work. After allowing a walk and a single in two of her first three batters of the game, Dohse retired 12 of the final 14 batters she faced. In total, the redshirt first-year from Hopkins, Minnesota threw just 58 pitches to 17 batters.
Renae Cunningham made three appearances over the weekend, all in relief, and did not allow an earned run in 7.0 innings of action, striking out four batters. Cunningham leads the Wildcats' pitching staff so far this season with a 2.62 ERA (4 ER/10.2 IP).
Northwestern is back in action next weekend for its annual trip to Palm Springs for the nation's most anticipated non-conference tournament, the Mary Nutter Classic. The Wildcats open the weekend on Friday evening with a meeting against Seattle at 8pm CT/6 pm PT, followed by a doubleheader against Utah and Saint Mary's beginning at 4:30 pm CT/2:30 pm PT, and a Sunday finale vs. California at 11 am CT/9 am PT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Grudzielanek, Riley (2-3)
L: Adams, Jessica (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Robinson, Kansas 2 ; Raye, Emma 1
3B: Nader, Kelsey 1 ; Avvisato, Kaylie 1
HR: Donahey, Bridget 1 ; Garden, Avery 1 ; Muno, Ainsley 1
RBI: Nader, Kelsey 2 ; Avvisato, Kaylie 1 ; Robinson, Kansas 2 ; Raye, Emma 1 ; Donahey, Bridget 1 ; Garden, Avery 3 ; Muno, Ainsley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Avvisato, Kaylie 2 ; Robinson, Kansas 1 ; Minarovic, Grace 1 ; Donahey, Bridget 2 ; Garden, Avery 1 ; Lindsey, Ayana 1 ; Muno, Ainsley 1 ; Nieto, Grace 2
SB: Avvisato, Kaylie 1
CS: Robinson, Kansas 1
HBP: Donahey, Bridget 1
Batting:
2B: Neises, Marley 1 ; Spriggs, Camila 1
RBI: McNulty, Mia 1 ; Neises, Marley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McClarity, Dee 1 ; Baylor, Elizabeth 1 ; Spriggs, Camila 1
CS: Soza, Vanessa 1
HBP: Bautista, Kailee 1
