Wednesday, May 7
West Lafayette, Ind.
6 pm CT
Northwestern
at
Purdue
Wildcats Open Big Ten Tournament at Purdue with Showdown vs. Boilermakers
5/6/2025 4:20:00 PM | Softball
West Lafayette, Ind. – Northwestern heads to Purdue University this weekend for the 2025 Big Ten Tournament, beginning play with a showdown against the hosting Boilermakers on Wednesday evening.
The No. 5 seeded Wildcats are slated to face off against the No. 12 seed Boilermakers at approximately 6 pm CT, with the winner moving on to face No. 4 seed Ohio State on Thursday night. Action throughout the weekend will be televised live on Big Ten Network, with Lisa Byington (play-by-play) and Jennie Ritter (analyst) on the call.
Northwestern closed the regular season with a 29-17-1 record and a 16-6 mark in the Big Ten, tied for fourth place in the Big Ten standings in what marks the Wildcats' seventh-consecutive Top-4 finish in the Big Ten. Northwestern and Ohio State finished tied for fourth in the conference standings, with the Buckeyes securing a tiebreak (winning percentage against the 12 Big Ten Tournament qualifiers) to earn a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Wildcats enter West Lafayette in search of their second conference tournament title in the last three seasons. Northwestern has won three Big Ten Tournament titles in program history (1982, 2008, 2023), the third-most among Big Ten programs.
Most recently, Northwestern earned a marquee series victory at No. 8 UCLA in its final three games of the regular season. The 'Cats opened the weekend with an emphatic 8-0 run-rule victory over the Bruins on Friday to snap UCLA's 24-game home winning streak before locking up the series victory on Sunday with a four-run rally in the sixth inning en route to a 5-3 victory.
With its series victory this weekend, Northwestern joins No. 4 Florida, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 5 Texas, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 12 South Carolina and No. 2 Oklahoma as the only teams in the nation this season to earn a three-game series victory on the road over an opponent currently ranked in the RPI Top-10. Northwestern now has four wins (Duke, Mississippi State, UCLA x2) over teams currently ranked in the most recent RPI Top-25, which ranks third in the Big Ten behind only UCLA (8) and Oregon (6).
On Tuesday, Lauren Boyd was named the National Pitcher of the Week by D1Softball, as well as one of four players in the nation named to Softball America's "Stars of the Week" following her dominant showing in UCLA in which Boyd went 2-0 with two complete games and a 1.62 ERA (3 ER/13.0 IP) while striking out seven and limiting UCLA's lineup to just a .156 combined batting average. Boyd tossed her second complete game shutout of the season in Friday's victory, allowing just three hits and no walks across 21 batters faced. On Sunday, Boyd allowed just four hits while stranding six Bruins on base and retiring 14 of the last 16 batters she faced to lock up the series victory.
Wildcat starters have been effective against Big Ten opponents this year, finishing third in the conference in ERA (3.30), and fourth in batting average against (.240). Boyd has led the way for the 'Cats, finishing with a 2.54 ERA (39 ER/107.1 IP) in the regular season and a 2.33 mark (21 ER/63.0 IP) in Big Ten play, tied for third in the conference. In her last six starts, Boyd is 6-0 with a 1.60 ERA (8 ER/35.0 IP) with four complete game performances. As a team Northwestern is 17-4 in games that Boyd has pitched in.
Offensively, Northwestern has been on a tear to close the regular season. In the last three weeks of action, the Wildcats are 9-2 with five run-rule victories while outscoring their opponents 83-34 in that span. In those 11 games, the 'Cats are hitting .330 (99-for-300) to go along with a .547 slugging percentage.
On the basepaths, the Wildcats racked up 83 stolen bases, including a Big Ten-leading 51 in conference play. With 22 stolen bases, Kaylie Avvisato is the first Wildcat to steal 20 bases in a season since Skyler Shellmyer in 2023 and the first Wildcat rookie to do so since Rachel Lewis in 2018 (24). Senior Grace Neito is a perfect 14-for-14 on stolen base attempts this season, the second-highest mark without being caught among all players in the Big Ten.
Nieto reached base multiple times in all three games this weekend and finished the series hitting .600 (6-for-10) to go along with a .667 on-base percentage. On Friday, Nieto reached base in all four of her plate appearances, and matched her career high with three hits while hitting a solo home run in the second inning. Nieto has come up clutch in the biggest of spots this season for Northwestern, leading the team in two-out hitting (.533; 16-for-30), hitting with runners in scoring position (.412; 14-for-34) and hitting with runners on base (.400; 22-for-55). Her .342 batting average is on track for a single-season career high, and her 14 stolen bases is already a career best.
Kelsey Nader (4-for-9) and Isabel Cunnea (4-for-10) each finished the weekend with four hits. On Sunday, Nader turned in her team-leading 16th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Cunnea went 2-for-3 with two RBI for her 11th multi-hit game and sixth multi-RBI effort on the year. Cunnea is now hitting .357 (40-for-112) this season and .368 (21-for-57) in conference play, both of which lead the team.
Avvisato and fellow first-year Avery Garden have been a formidable duo in Big Ten play. Garden blasted towering home runs in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, bringing her total to five long balls on the season. Garden finished the weekend with a team-high six RBI, driving in three runs (a single-game career high) in back-to-back games. Garden is hitting .326 (15-for-46) with 14 RBI and a .543 slugging percentage in Big Ten play this season. Avvisato meanwhile is hitting .329 (25-for-76) with 17 RBI and a .873 OPS against conference opponents to go along with twelve stolen bases in conference play.
Northwestern's late-inning rally on Sunday was headlined by a bases-clearing RBI-single from Lauren Sciborski which gave the Wildcats a 5-3 lead in the sixth inning. Sciborski has broken out at the plate in her last nine games, batting .333 (6-for-18) with two home runs, a double, and a 1.090 OPS.
In the middle of the Northwestern lineup, Bridget Donahey led the Wildcats in conference play with a .660 slugging percentage and a .465 on-base percentage. Donahey's eight home runs on the year are tied for the team lead alongside Kansas Robinson. Robinson blasted her eighth home run of the year on Saturday at UCLA as part of three-straight home runs in the top of the fifth inning, tying an NCAA record. Robinson leads the team this season with 38 RBI, 22 of which have come in Big Ten play, and is on track to become the first Wildcat to lead the team in RBI in consecutive seasons since Andrea Filler did so in 2016 and 2017.
The Wildcats hold a 52-21 advantage in the all-time series against the Boilermakers, and the most recent matchup between the teams came in 2024, when Northwestern came away with a series win in West Lafayette.
The No. 5 seeded Wildcats are slated to face off against the No. 12 seed Boilermakers at approximately 6 pm CT, with the winner moving on to face No. 4 seed Ohio State on Thursday night. Action throughout the weekend will be televised live on Big Ten Network, with Lisa Byington (play-by-play) and Jennie Ritter (analyst) on the call.
Northwestern closed the regular season with a 29-17-1 record and a 16-6 mark in the Big Ten, tied for fourth place in the Big Ten standings in what marks the Wildcats' seventh-consecutive Top-4 finish in the Big Ten. Northwestern and Ohio State finished tied for fourth in the conference standings, with the Buckeyes securing a tiebreak (winning percentage against the 12 Big Ten Tournament qualifiers) to earn a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Wildcats enter West Lafayette in search of their second conference tournament title in the last three seasons. Northwestern has won three Big Ten Tournament titles in program history (1982, 2008, 2023), the third-most among Big Ten programs.
Most recently, Northwestern earned a marquee series victory at No. 8 UCLA in its final three games of the regular season. The 'Cats opened the weekend with an emphatic 8-0 run-rule victory over the Bruins on Friday to snap UCLA's 24-game home winning streak before locking up the series victory on Sunday with a four-run rally in the sixth inning en route to a 5-3 victory.
With its series victory this weekend, Northwestern joins No. 4 Florida, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 5 Texas, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 12 South Carolina and No. 2 Oklahoma as the only teams in the nation this season to earn a three-game series victory on the road over an opponent currently ranked in the RPI Top-10. Northwestern now has four wins (Duke, Mississippi State, UCLA x2) over teams currently ranked in the most recent RPI Top-25, which ranks third in the Big Ten behind only UCLA (8) and Oregon (6).
On Tuesday, Lauren Boyd was named the National Pitcher of the Week by D1Softball, as well as one of four players in the nation named to Softball America's "Stars of the Week" following her dominant showing in UCLA in which Boyd went 2-0 with two complete games and a 1.62 ERA (3 ER/13.0 IP) while striking out seven and limiting UCLA's lineup to just a .156 combined batting average. Boyd tossed her second complete game shutout of the season in Friday's victory, allowing just three hits and no walks across 21 batters faced. On Sunday, Boyd allowed just four hits while stranding six Bruins on base and retiring 14 of the last 16 batters she faced to lock up the series victory.
Wildcat starters have been effective against Big Ten opponents this year, finishing third in the conference in ERA (3.30), and fourth in batting average against (.240). Boyd has led the way for the 'Cats, finishing with a 2.54 ERA (39 ER/107.1 IP) in the regular season and a 2.33 mark (21 ER/63.0 IP) in Big Ten play, tied for third in the conference. In her last six starts, Boyd is 6-0 with a 1.60 ERA (8 ER/35.0 IP) with four complete game performances. As a team Northwestern is 17-4 in games that Boyd has pitched in.
Offensively, Northwestern has been on a tear to close the regular season. In the last three weeks of action, the Wildcats are 9-2 with five run-rule victories while outscoring their opponents 83-34 in that span. In those 11 games, the 'Cats are hitting .330 (99-for-300) to go along with a .547 slugging percentage.
On the basepaths, the Wildcats racked up 83 stolen bases, including a Big Ten-leading 51 in conference play. With 22 stolen bases, Kaylie Avvisato is the first Wildcat to steal 20 bases in a season since Skyler Shellmyer in 2023 and the first Wildcat rookie to do so since Rachel Lewis in 2018 (24). Senior Grace Neito is a perfect 14-for-14 on stolen base attempts this season, the second-highest mark without being caught among all players in the Big Ten.
Nieto reached base multiple times in all three games this weekend and finished the series hitting .600 (6-for-10) to go along with a .667 on-base percentage. On Friday, Nieto reached base in all four of her plate appearances, and matched her career high with three hits while hitting a solo home run in the second inning. Nieto has come up clutch in the biggest of spots this season for Northwestern, leading the team in two-out hitting (.533; 16-for-30), hitting with runners in scoring position (.412; 14-for-34) and hitting with runners on base (.400; 22-for-55). Her .342 batting average is on track for a single-season career high, and her 14 stolen bases is already a career best.
Kelsey Nader (4-for-9) and Isabel Cunnea (4-for-10) each finished the weekend with four hits. On Sunday, Nader turned in her team-leading 16th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Cunnea went 2-for-3 with two RBI for her 11th multi-hit game and sixth multi-RBI effort on the year. Cunnea is now hitting .357 (40-for-112) this season and .368 (21-for-57) in conference play, both of which lead the team.
Avvisato and fellow first-year Avery Garden have been a formidable duo in Big Ten play. Garden blasted towering home runs in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, bringing her total to five long balls on the season. Garden finished the weekend with a team-high six RBI, driving in three runs (a single-game career high) in back-to-back games. Garden is hitting .326 (15-for-46) with 14 RBI and a .543 slugging percentage in Big Ten play this season. Avvisato meanwhile is hitting .329 (25-for-76) with 17 RBI and a .873 OPS against conference opponents to go along with twelve stolen bases in conference play.
Northwestern's late-inning rally on Sunday was headlined by a bases-clearing RBI-single from Lauren Sciborski which gave the Wildcats a 5-3 lead in the sixth inning. Sciborski has broken out at the plate in her last nine games, batting .333 (6-for-18) with two home runs, a double, and a 1.090 OPS.
In the middle of the Northwestern lineup, Bridget Donahey led the Wildcats in conference play with a .660 slugging percentage and a .465 on-base percentage. Donahey's eight home runs on the year are tied for the team lead alongside Kansas Robinson. Robinson blasted her eighth home run of the year on Saturday at UCLA as part of three-straight home runs in the top of the fifth inning, tying an NCAA record. Robinson leads the team this season with 38 RBI, 22 of which have come in Big Ten play, and is on track to become the first Wildcat to lead the team in RBI in consecutive seasons since Andrea Filler did so in 2016 and 2017.
The Wildcats hold a 52-21 advantage in the all-time series against the Boilermakers, and the most recent matchup between the teams came in 2024, when Northwestern came away with a series win in West Lafayette.
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
