Saturday, April 12
Evanston, Ill.
2 pm CT
Northwestern
vs
#23 Nebraska
‘Cats Host Weekend Series vs. No. 23 Nebraska
4/11/2025 3:49:00 PM | Softball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern welcomes No. 23 Nebraska to Sharon J. Drysdale Field this weekend for a marquee Big Ten series on Saturday-Sunday-Monday.
The Wildcats (20-12-1, 9-1 Big Ten) and Cornhuskers (29-10, 8-3 Big Ten) will face off on Saturday at 2 pm CT, Sunday at 4pm CT and Monday at 3 pm CT. Saturday and Monday's games will be streamed on B1G+, while Sunday's game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network. Tickets for the series are going fast, get yours today HERE.
With a 9-1 record in Big Ten play on the season, Northwestern sits atop the Big Ten standings in a three-way tie with No. 4 Oregon and No. 7 UCLA. At 8-3 on the year, Nebraska enters this weekend in fifth place. Over the last three years dating back to 2022, Northwestern and Nebraska are the only programs in the conference to finish in the top four of the Big Ten standings in each season. Northwestern holds an .859 winning percentage (67-11) in Big Ten play since the start of 2022, the most wins by any team in the conference in that span.
The Wildcats have won 20-consecutive Big Ten series, dating back to the start of the 2023 season. Since the start of the 2019 season, the 'Cats are 42-4-3 in their last 49 Big Ten series.
This past weekend, Northwestern took two of three games over Illinois, headlined by an 8-2 win in the series finale which marked the 800th career win for head coach Kate Drohan and associate head coach Caryl Drohan. Drohan became just the 30th active Division I head coach to reach 800 career wins, as well as one just 18 active coaches to record 800+ wins at one school. With 336 career Big Ten wins, the Drohans rank third all-time in conference history, behind only Gayle Blevins (420) and Carol Hutchins (662).
As a pitching staff last weekend, the Wildcats combined to post a 1.00 ERA (3 ER/21.0 IP) across three games, limiting Illini hitters to just a .205 opponent batting average in the series. The 'Cats saw a pair of complete game performances from its starting pitchers in the first two games of the series–on Saturday, Lauren Boyd tossed a complete game gem, her third-straight complete game, while striking out seven and allowing just one earned run in a 4-3 victory. On Saturday, Riley Grudzielanek recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts in 7.0 innings while allowing six hits and no earned runs in the Wildcats' 2-1 setback. Boyd now 7-0 with two saves, 51 strikeouts and a 1.66 ERA (11 ER/46.1 IP) in her last nine outings, while Grudzielanek holds a 1.31 ERA (5 ER/26.2 IP) in five Big Ten appearances, the second-lowest mark of any pitcher in the conference.
Boyd and Grudzielanek have each tossed six complete games on the season, making Northwestern one of just two Big Ten teams entering the weekend to have multiple pitchers with at least six complete games (also UCLA's Taylor Tinsley and Kaitlyn Terry).
Junior Kansas Robinson led Northwestern at the plate last weekending by driving in six of the Wildcats' 12 total runs in the series. Robinson has caught fire over the last two weekends for the Wildcats, hitting .571 (12-for-21) with 18 RBI, a 1.143 slugging percentage and a .591 on-base percentage in the team's last six games. Robinson has raised her batting average by .60 points in that span, up to .277 on the season. She now leads the team with 28 RBI on the season, 14 of which have come during Big Ten play which ranks seventh among all conference players. Fellow junior Bridget Donahey blasted her team-leading seventh homer of the season in this past weekend's series. Donahey leads the Wildcats this season with a .658 slugging percentage on the year and a .920 mark in conference play (8th among all Big Ten players).
First-year Kaylie Avvisato enters the weekend leading the team in batting average (.383), hits (41), total bases (57) and stolen bases (18). Avvisato has stolen a base in five-straight games, and is looking to become the first Wildcat to steal 20+ bases in a season since Skyler Shellmyer (20) in 2023. The last Wildcat first-year to steal 20+ bases in their rookie campaign was Rachel Lewis (24) in 2018, a season in which she was named an NFCA Second Team All-American.
Sophomore Emma Raye has caught fire at the plate since the start of conference play, leading the Wildcats with a .400 batting average (12-for-30) through 10 conference games. Since the start of March (last 17 games), Raye has raised her batting average from .179 up to .300 (fifth on the team). Fellow sophomore Isabel Cunnea joins Raye as one of five Wildcats entering the weekend hitting .300 or better on the season. Cunnea has already posted six multi-hit games this season, surpassing her combined total (4) across 47 games in 2024.
Hitting atop the lineup in the one and two spots, Grace Nieto and Kelsey Nader rank second and third on the team in batting average, respectively. Nieto is hitting .343 (35-for-102), on pace for a career-high batting average in her third season in the lineup. The senior from Farmington Hills, Mich. leads the team with a .462 batting average (12-for-26) with runners in scoring position and a .478 average (11-for-23) with two outs. Over Northwestern's last 20 games, Nader is hitting .421 (24-for-57) with a team-best .560 on-base percentage.
This marks the third-straight season in which Northwestern and Nebraska have matched up for a regular season series, with the Wildcats sweeping the 2023 series in Evanston and a two-game set in Lincoln in 2024. The Wildcats have won their last seven games against Nebraska, dating back to the regular season finale in 2021, however Nebraska holds a narrow 24-23 advantage in the all-time series.
Following this weekend, Northwestern wraps up its eight game homestand with a midweek matchup against Loyola (Chicago) at The J on Wednesday, April 16, with first pitch scheduled for 4 pm CT. Next weekend, the Wildcats hit the road for a three-game conference series at Rutgers beginning on Friday, April 18.
The Wildcats (20-12-1, 9-1 Big Ten) and Cornhuskers (29-10, 8-3 Big Ten) will face off on Saturday at 2 pm CT, Sunday at 4pm CT and Monday at 3 pm CT. Saturday and Monday's games will be streamed on B1G+, while Sunday's game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network. Tickets for the series are going fast, get yours today HERE.
With a 9-1 record in Big Ten play on the season, Northwestern sits atop the Big Ten standings in a three-way tie with No. 4 Oregon and No. 7 UCLA. At 8-3 on the year, Nebraska enters this weekend in fifth place. Over the last three years dating back to 2022, Northwestern and Nebraska are the only programs in the conference to finish in the top four of the Big Ten standings in each season. Northwestern holds an .859 winning percentage (67-11) in Big Ten play since the start of 2022, the most wins by any team in the conference in that span.
The Wildcats have won 20-consecutive Big Ten series, dating back to the start of the 2023 season. Since the start of the 2019 season, the 'Cats are 42-4-3 in their last 49 Big Ten series.
This past weekend, Northwestern took two of three games over Illinois, headlined by an 8-2 win in the series finale which marked the 800th career win for head coach Kate Drohan and associate head coach Caryl Drohan. Drohan became just the 30th active Division I head coach to reach 800 career wins, as well as one just 18 active coaches to record 800+ wins at one school. With 336 career Big Ten wins, the Drohans rank third all-time in conference history, behind only Gayle Blevins (420) and Carol Hutchins (662).
As a pitching staff last weekend, the Wildcats combined to post a 1.00 ERA (3 ER/21.0 IP) across three games, limiting Illini hitters to just a .205 opponent batting average in the series. The 'Cats saw a pair of complete game performances from its starting pitchers in the first two games of the series–on Saturday, Lauren Boyd tossed a complete game gem, her third-straight complete game, while striking out seven and allowing just one earned run in a 4-3 victory. On Saturday, Riley Grudzielanek recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts in 7.0 innings while allowing six hits and no earned runs in the Wildcats' 2-1 setback. Boyd now 7-0 with two saves, 51 strikeouts and a 1.66 ERA (11 ER/46.1 IP) in her last nine outings, while Grudzielanek holds a 1.31 ERA (5 ER/26.2 IP) in five Big Ten appearances, the second-lowest mark of any pitcher in the conference.
Boyd and Grudzielanek have each tossed six complete games on the season, making Northwestern one of just two Big Ten teams entering the weekend to have multiple pitchers with at least six complete games (also UCLA's Taylor Tinsley and Kaitlyn Terry).
Junior Kansas Robinson led Northwestern at the plate last weekending by driving in six of the Wildcats' 12 total runs in the series. Robinson has caught fire over the last two weekends for the Wildcats, hitting .571 (12-for-21) with 18 RBI, a 1.143 slugging percentage and a .591 on-base percentage in the team's last six games. Robinson has raised her batting average by .60 points in that span, up to .277 on the season. She now leads the team with 28 RBI on the season, 14 of which have come during Big Ten play which ranks seventh among all conference players. Fellow junior Bridget Donahey blasted her team-leading seventh homer of the season in this past weekend's series. Donahey leads the Wildcats this season with a .658 slugging percentage on the year and a .920 mark in conference play (8th among all Big Ten players).
First-year Kaylie Avvisato enters the weekend leading the team in batting average (.383), hits (41), total bases (57) and stolen bases (18). Avvisato has stolen a base in five-straight games, and is looking to become the first Wildcat to steal 20+ bases in a season since Skyler Shellmyer (20) in 2023. The last Wildcat first-year to steal 20+ bases in their rookie campaign was Rachel Lewis (24) in 2018, a season in which she was named an NFCA Second Team All-American.
Sophomore Emma Raye has caught fire at the plate since the start of conference play, leading the Wildcats with a .400 batting average (12-for-30) through 10 conference games. Since the start of March (last 17 games), Raye has raised her batting average from .179 up to .300 (fifth on the team). Fellow sophomore Isabel Cunnea joins Raye as one of five Wildcats entering the weekend hitting .300 or better on the season. Cunnea has already posted six multi-hit games this season, surpassing her combined total (4) across 47 games in 2024.
Hitting atop the lineup in the one and two spots, Grace Nieto and Kelsey Nader rank second and third on the team in batting average, respectively. Nieto is hitting .343 (35-for-102), on pace for a career-high batting average in her third season in the lineup. The senior from Farmington Hills, Mich. leads the team with a .462 batting average (12-for-26) with runners in scoring position and a .478 average (11-for-23) with two outs. Over Northwestern's last 20 games, Nader is hitting .421 (24-for-57) with a team-best .560 on-base percentage.
This marks the third-straight season in which Northwestern and Nebraska have matched up for a regular season series, with the Wildcats sweeping the 2023 series in Evanston and a two-game set in Lincoln in 2024. The Wildcats have won their last seven games against Nebraska, dating back to the regular season finale in 2021, however Nebraska holds a narrow 24-23 advantage in the all-time series.
Following this weekend, Northwestern wraps up its eight game homestand with a midweek matchup against Loyola (Chicago) at The J on Wednesday, April 16, with first pitch scheduled for 4 pm CT. Next weekend, the Wildcats hit the road for a three-game conference series at Rutgers beginning on Friday, April 18.
Players Mentioned
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/ 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
