Northwestern University Athletics
Sunday, April 12
University Park, PA
10 am CT
Northwestern
20-19, 8-7
17
at
3
Penn State
26-15, 7-8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 0 |
| Penn State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
‘Cats Sweep Weekend Series at Penn State
4/12/2026 2:26:00 PM | Softball
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Northwestern earned a weekend series sweep at Penn State in emphatic fashion, outscoring the Nittany Lions 38-9 in three games.
The Wildcats opened the weekend with an 8-2 victory on Friday afternoon before exploding for back-to-back run-rule victories over Penn State, taking down the Nittany Lions 13-4 in five innings on Saturday followed by a 17-3 six-inning victory on Sunday.
Northwestern has now won 19 consecutive games over Penn State, dating back to 2011. The Wildcats have now swept each of their last two road Big Ten series, and have gone 12-5 over their last five weekends of play.
In Friday's opener, Kaylie Avvisato broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with a three-run homer to put the Wildcats in front. After the 'Cats extended the lead to 5-0, Emma Raye launched a three-run homer of her own in the fourth inning. Marina Mason earned the win in the circle, allowing just two hits in 6.0 innings while striking out a career-high 10 batters. Renae Cunningham slammed the door in the seventh inning, retiring all three batters she faced to secure an 8-2 win.
The Wildcats' bats were unrelenting on Saturday, as Northwestern scored runs in every inning and scattered 14 hits among seven different batters. After jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, Penn State responded with three in the bottom of the frame before Signe Dohse stranded the bases loaded to keep the Wildcats in front. The NU offense promptly responded with three runs in the third, two in the fourth, and four more in the fifth frame. Dohse earned the win in the circle, her third of the season. Emma Blea secured a save after entering in the fourth inning with the bases loaded (tying run on deck) and retiring the first batter she faced before finishing out the game.
On Sunday's weekend finale, Penn State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning but Mason limited the damage with a strikeout to strand the bases loaded. In the fourth inning, Raye put the Wildcats in front with a towering go-ahead two-run homer that went over the left field scoreboard at Beard Field. The very next batter, Kansas Robinson went back-to-back with a solo homer to extend the lead to 3-1. The 'Cats added four runs in the fifth frame, headlined by a solo homer from Avvisato. They immediately followed up with a 10-run sixth inning that saw Avvisato homer for the second inning in a row and Northwestern send 13 batters to the plate. Northwestern finished with a 17-3 win in six innings, marking the 10th run-rule victory on the year for the Wildcats.
Emma Raye led the Wildcats at the plate over the weekend, reaching base in 11 of 13 plate appearances (.846 OBP) while collecting six RBI, seven runs scored, two homers and three stolen bases. Raye recorded three hits in all three games, scoring multiple runs in each game. The junior catcher now leads the Wildcats this season in batting average (.396), OPS (1.266), hits (44), home runs (10), RBI (41), slugging percentage (.766) and on-base percentage (.500). Raye has taken her game to another level in conference play, hitting .413 (19-for-46) with a .534 on-base percentage against Big Ten opponents.
Kaylie Avvisato also turned in an explosive weekend, leading the 'Cats with three homers and nine RBI while hitting .538 (7-for-13) with seven runs scored. Avvisato drove in multiple RBI in each game during the weekend series and posted a career performance in Sunday's finale, going 4-for-5 with four RBI and four runs scored in what marked the first multi-home run game of her career as well as single-game career highs in hits and runs scored. The sophomore is now riding a career-high 17-game reached base streak, during which she is hitting .441 (26-for-59) with 23 RBI and 25 runs scored.
Raye and Avvisato have now each set career highs with 41 and 40 RBI on the year, respectively. They are the first Wildcat duo to collect 40+ RBI in the same season since Jordyn Rudd and Angela Zedak did so during the 2023 season.
Isabel Cunnea went 8-for-12 (.667 average) with seven RBI throughout the weekend in Happy Valley. Cunnea posted back-to-back multi-hit, multi RBI efforts on Saturday and Sunday, going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI on Saturday followed by another 3-for-4 showing with three RBI on Sunday. Cunnea is now hitting .343 (12-for-35) in conference play, the third-highest mark on the team behind Raye and Avvisato.
The Wildcats also saw consistent production throughout the weekend from their senior starters, as Grace Nieto drew a career-high four walks (tied for third-most in single-game program history) in Saturday's win and finished the weekend with a .692 on-base percentage and seven runs scored. Bridget Donahey posted a three-hit, three-run performance on Saturday, while Kansas Robinson went 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, four RBI and two runs scored on Sunday. Kelsey Nader finished the weekend with a .583 on-base percentage and now sits third on the team in batting average (.330) on the season.
With a win on Sunday, Marina Mason improves to 10-8 in the circle on the season, becoming the first Wildcat rookie to win double-digit games in her first year since Danielle Williams (31) in 2019. Mason holds a team-leading 2.54 ERA (37 ER/102.0 IP) and a .187 opposing batting average on the year.
Northwestern will be back in action for a midweek trip to South Bend on Wednesday to face Notre Dame. First pitch is set for 5 pm CT, with coverage on ACC Network. The 'Cats then return home for a three-game set against Michigan State at The Ballpark at Rosemont beginning on Friday evening.
The Wildcats opened the weekend with an 8-2 victory on Friday afternoon before exploding for back-to-back run-rule victories over Penn State, taking down the Nittany Lions 13-4 in five innings on Saturday followed by a 17-3 six-inning victory on Sunday.
WEEKEND SWEEP! ????#GoCats | #BeRemarkable pic.twitter.com/SQPrQglTNX
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) April 12, 2026
Northwestern has now won 19 consecutive games over Penn State, dating back to 2011. The Wildcats have now swept each of their last two road Big Ten series, and have gone 12-5 over their last five weekends of play.
In Friday's opener, Kaylie Avvisato broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with a three-run homer to put the Wildcats in front. After the 'Cats extended the lead to 5-0, Emma Raye launched a three-run homer of her own in the fourth inning. Marina Mason earned the win in the circle, allowing just two hits in 6.0 innings while striking out a career-high 10 batters. Renae Cunningham slammed the door in the seventh inning, retiring all three batters she faced to secure an 8-2 win.
The Wildcats' bats were unrelenting on Saturday, as Northwestern scored runs in every inning and scattered 14 hits among seven different batters. After jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, Penn State responded with three in the bottom of the frame before Signe Dohse stranded the bases loaded to keep the Wildcats in front. The NU offense promptly responded with three runs in the third, two in the fourth, and four more in the fifth frame. Dohse earned the win in the circle, her third of the season. Emma Blea secured a save after entering in the fourth inning with the bases loaded (tying run on deck) and retiring the first batter she faced before finishing out the game.
On Sunday's weekend finale, Penn State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning but Mason limited the damage with a strikeout to strand the bases loaded. In the fourth inning, Raye put the Wildcats in front with a towering go-ahead two-run homer that went over the left field scoreboard at Beard Field. The very next batter, Kansas Robinson went back-to-back with a solo homer to extend the lead to 3-1. The 'Cats added four runs in the fifth frame, headlined by a solo homer from Avvisato. They immediately followed up with a 10-run sixth inning that saw Avvisato homer for the second inning in a row and Northwestern send 13 batters to the plate. Northwestern finished with a 17-3 win in six innings, marking the 10th run-rule victory on the year for the Wildcats.
Emma Raye led the Wildcats at the plate over the weekend, reaching base in 11 of 13 plate appearances (.846 OBP) while collecting six RBI, seven runs scored, two homers and three stolen bases. Raye recorded three hits in all three games, scoring multiple runs in each game. The junior catcher now leads the Wildcats this season in batting average (.396), OPS (1.266), hits (44), home runs (10), RBI (41), slugging percentage (.766) and on-base percentage (.500). Raye has taken her game to another level in conference play, hitting .413 (19-for-46) with a .534 on-base percentage against Big Ten opponents.
OVER THE SCOREBOARD ???? @EmmaRaye17 https://t.co/X6kBOrYm25 pic.twitter.com/26i1qa1brh
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) April 12, 2026
Kaylie Avvisato also turned in an explosive weekend, leading the 'Cats with three homers and nine RBI while hitting .538 (7-for-13) with seven runs scored. Avvisato drove in multiple RBI in each game during the weekend series and posted a career performance in Sunday's finale, going 4-for-5 with four RBI and four runs scored in what marked the first multi-home run game of her career as well as single-game career highs in hits and runs scored. The sophomore is now riding a career-high 17-game reached base streak, during which she is hitting .441 (26-for-59) with 23 RBI and 25 runs scored.
Going, Going, Gone ?? https://t.co/SYCuiK22nw pic.twitter.com/VCqkdmJL1Y
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) April 10, 2026
Raye and Avvisato have now each set career highs with 41 and 40 RBI on the year, respectively. They are the first Wildcat duo to collect 40+ RBI in the same season since Jordyn Rudd and Angela Zedak did so during the 2023 season.
Isabel Cunnea went 8-for-12 (.667 average) with seven RBI throughout the weekend in Happy Valley. Cunnea posted back-to-back multi-hit, multi RBI efforts on Saturday and Sunday, going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI on Saturday followed by another 3-for-4 showing with three RBI on Sunday. Cunnea is now hitting .343 (12-for-35) in conference play, the third-highest mark on the team behind Raye and Avvisato.
The Wildcats also saw consistent production throughout the weekend from their senior starters, as Grace Nieto drew a career-high four walks (tied for third-most in single-game program history) in Saturday's win and finished the weekend with a .692 on-base percentage and seven runs scored. Bridget Donahey posted a three-hit, three-run performance on Saturday, while Kansas Robinson went 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, four RBI and two runs scored on Sunday. Kelsey Nader finished the weekend with a .583 on-base percentage and now sits third on the team in batting average (.330) on the season.
With a win on Sunday, Marina Mason improves to 10-8 in the circle on the season, becoming the first Wildcat rookie to win double-digit games in her first year since Danielle Williams (31) in 2019. Mason holds a team-leading 2.54 ERA (37 ER/102.0 IP) and a .187 opposing batting average on the year.
Missed all 10 of Marina Mason's strikeouts today? No worries. We've got ya covered.
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) April 10, 2026
What an outing from our first-year pitcher, who set a new career-high in strikeouts today ?? pic.twitter.com/11pHKM861B
Northwestern will be back in action for a midweek trip to South Bend on Wednesday to face Notre Dame. First pitch is set for 5 pm CT, with coverage on ACC Network. The 'Cats then return home for a three-game set against Michigan State at The Ballpark at Rosemont beginning on Friday evening.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mason, Marina (10-8)
L: Abigail Britton (4-3)
Batting:
2B: Robinson, Kansas 1 ; Nader, Kelsey 1
HR: Avvisato, Kaylie 2 ; Raye, Emma 1 ; Robinson, Kansas 1
RBI: Nieto, Grace 1 ; Avvisato, Kaylie 4 ; Raye, Emma 2 ; Robinson, Kansas 4 ; Nader, Kelsey 1 ; Cunnea, Isabel 3 ; McCue, Teagan 1 ; Medina, Tru 1
SF: Medina, Tru 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nieto, Grace 2 ; Avvisato, Kaylie 4 ; Raye, Emma 3 ; Robinson, Kansas 2 ; Donahey, Bridget 2 ; Nader, Kelsey 2 ; Cunnea, Isabel 1 ; McCue, Teagan 1
SB: Nieto, Grace 1
HBP: Donahey, Bridget 1
Batting:
2B: Breanna Hanik 1
3B: Brooke Klosowicz 1
RBI: Allison Oneacre 1 ; Breanna Hanik 1 ; Jordan George 1
SF: Jordan George 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brooke Klosowicz 2 ; Frankee Flesher 1
HBP: Allison Oneacre 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
4
H
4
RBI
4
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P/U
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballSoftball - Wildcats Earn Series Sweep at Penn State with 17-3 Run-Rule (4/12/26)
Sunday, April 12
Softball - 'Cats Run-Rule Penn State, 13-4, Claim Series Victory (4/11/26)
Saturday, April 11
Softball - 'Cats Open Weekend at Penn State with 8-2 Win (4/10/26)
Friday, April 10
Softball - Marina Mason Tosses Complete Game Shutout, 'Cats Earn Game One Win vs. Michigan (4/3/26)
Saturday, April 04
