Saturday, February 22
Cathedral City, Calif.
4:30 pm CT
Northwestern
6-6
6
vs
1
Utah
4-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Utah
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
4
3
Northwestern
0
0
0
1
0
5
X
6
5
0
Wildcats Split Saturday Doubleheader at Mary Nutter Classic
2/23/2025 12:20:00 AM | Softball
Cathedral City, Calif. – Northwestern picked up a 6-1 win over Utah in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic before dropping the later game, 2-0, to Saint May's.
Lauren Boyd earned the win for the Wildcats' in the early game, pitching 6.2 innings while allowing just four hits and one run, striking out six. Boyd improves to 2-2 on the season, it marked her third outing of the season going 5.0+ innings, while her six strikeouts were the second-most in an outing by a Wildcat pitcher since Boyd struck out seven in a win over No. 8 Duke on Feb. 8.
Northwestern entered the bottom of the sixth inning vs. Utah tied at 1-1, before the Wildcats exploded for five runs in the frame to put the game out of reach. Emma Raye drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI-single to left field to bring home Bridget Donahey. It marked Raye's second hit of the game, having also doubled in the second inning. Grace Nieto tacked on another RBI with a groundout when the bases were loaded.
Kelsey Nader broke the game open with a two-out, two-RBI double to center field to drive in Avery Garden and Hannah Cushing. It marked Nader's second double and third extra-base hit of the season. Nader came around to score on the next at-bat thanks to a Kaylie Avvisato RBI-single, Avvisato's fifth RBI on the year.
Riley Grudzielanek got the ball to start the second game vs. Saint Mary's and tossed 5.0 scoreless innings to start, before surrendering two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Grudzielanek finished with a final line of 5.1 innings, seven hits, two runs and three strikeouts. Renae Cunningham, who earned the final out in game one, pitched the final 1.2 innings of game two, allowing no hits and just one hit batter over the six batters she faced.
Northwestern closes the weekend out with a Sunday morning matchup against California, with first pitch scheduled for 11 am CT / 9 am PT.
Lauren Boyd earned the win for the Wildcats' in the early game, pitching 6.2 innings while allowing just four hits and one run, striking out six. Boyd improves to 2-2 on the season, it marked her third outing of the season going 5.0+ innings, while her six strikeouts were the second-most in an outing by a Wildcat pitcher since Boyd struck out seven in a win over No. 8 Duke on Feb. 8.
Northwestern entered the bottom of the sixth inning vs. Utah tied at 1-1, before the Wildcats exploded for five runs in the frame to put the game out of reach. Emma Raye drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI-single to left field to bring home Bridget Donahey. It marked Raye's second hit of the game, having also doubled in the second inning. Grace Nieto tacked on another RBI with a groundout when the bases were loaded.
Kelsey Nader broke the game open with a two-out, two-RBI double to center field to drive in Avery Garden and Hannah Cushing. It marked Nader's second double and third extra-base hit of the season. Nader came around to score on the next at-bat thanks to a Kaylie Avvisato RBI-single, Avvisato's fifth RBI on the year.
Riley Grudzielanek got the ball to start the second game vs. Saint Mary's and tossed 5.0 scoreless innings to start, before surrendering two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Grudzielanek finished with a final line of 5.1 innings, seven hits, two runs and three strikeouts. Renae Cunningham, who earned the final out in game one, pitched the final 1.2 innings of game two, allowing no hits and just one hit batter over the six batters she faced.
Northwestern closes the weekend out with a Sunday morning matchup against California, with first pitch scheduled for 11 am CT / 9 am PT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Boyd, Lauren (2-2)
L: Jones, Shelbee (2-5)
Batting:
2B: Proctor, Kennedy 2
RBI: Sakai, Sianni 1
SH: Lundberg, Kendall 1 ; White, Hailee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lee, Reese 1
Batting:
2B: Nader, Kelsey 1 ; Raye, Emma 1
RBI: Nader, Kelsey 2 ; Avvisato, Kaylie 1 ; Raye, Emma 1 ; Nieto, Grace 1
SH: Cunnea, Isabel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nader, Kelsey 1 ; Donahey, Bridget 2 ; Cunnea, Isabel 1 ; Cushing, Hannah 1 ; Garden, Avery 1
SB: Avvisato, Kaylie 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
rf/cf
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
P/IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
P/IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ 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
