Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, April 24
West Lafayette, IN
4 pm CT
Northwestern
at
Purdue
Photo by: Henry Frieman/Northwestern Athletics
'Cats Travel to Purdue For Weekend Series
4/23/2026 5:44:00 PM | Softball
West Lafayette, Ind. – Northwestern travels to Bittinger Stadium this weekend as the Wildcats resume conference play with a three-game weekend road series at Purdue.
The Wildcats and Boilermakers open the series at 4 pm CT on Friday, followed by a 1 pm CT meeting on Saturday, before wrapping up the series at 12 pm CT on Sunday. All three games will be streamed on B1G+.
Northwestern enters the weekend with a 24-19 record and an 11-7 mark in conference play, currently sitting at sixth in the conference standings and ranked 49th nationally in RPI. The Boilermakers sit No. 38 in RPI and are 32-15 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten, ranking eighth in the conference.
Northwestern and Purdue have faced off 74 times in their history, with the Wildcats holding the all-time edge at 52-22. The most recent matchup between the two teams came at Bittinger Stadium during the 2025 Big Ten Tournament and resulted in a 4-2 victory for the hosts Purdue.
Most recently, Northwestern earned a 5-4 comeback win on the road on Tuesday at Northern Illinois. After falling behind 3-0 in the second inning, the Wildcats evened the score in the fourth frame thanks to a two-run homer from Kansas Robinson and an RBI-double from Isabel Cunnea. Northern Illinois took the lead again in the bottom of the fourth, 4-3, before the 'Cats stormed back in the top of the seventh, tying the game on a Kaylie Avvisato RBI-double and taking the lead for good on a sacrifice fly by Emma Raye. Marina Mason closed the game with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief for Northwestern, striking out three while allowing just three hits.
On Monday, Mason earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors after going 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 13 strikeouts in a weekend sweep of Michigan State. Mason leads the Wildcat pitching staff this season with a 2.28 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 113.2 innings of work. The Brentwood, Tennessee native has held opponents to a .181 batting average against, and her 4.68 hits per seven innings are the second lowest in the nation among first years.
Mason continued to earn accolades on Thursday as she was named a Top-25 finalist for the 2026 NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25 list. She is one of six players from the Big Ten Conference to be a Top-25 finalist from the award, as well as one of eight pitchers on the list. Mason is the third player in program history to be named a Top-25 finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year award, joining Rachel Lewis (2018) and Danielle Williams (2019). Williams went on to win the award in 2019, becoming the first and only Big Ten player to earn the honor.
Emma Raye continues to lead the Wildcats on offense, driving in the winning run against Northern Illinois on Tuesday, and posting team-highs in batting average (.625), slugging percentage (1.750), and RBI (9) in the weekend sweep of Michigan State. Raye is hitting .412 on the season with 12 home runs and 50 RBI, and her .832 slugging percentage is ninth best among all catchers in Division I. With 51 RBI on the season, Raye is two RBI away from passing former Wildcat catcher and current Purdue assistant Jordyn Rudd for the most RBI by a Northwestern catcher (52; 2022) in a single season.
Kaylie Avvisato enters the weekend riding a career-long 21-game on base streak, during which she is hitting .414 (29-for-70) with 26 RBI and 31 runs scored. Avvisato leads Northwestern with 11 doubles this season, including a game-tying RBI in the win over Northern Illinois. Avvisato is hitting .356 (21-for-59) with 19 RBI and 10 extra base hits in Big Ten play this season, second on the team behind only Raye (11).
Bridget Donahey is hitting .340 (18-for-53) and slugging .623 in conference play, the third-highest mark on the team. Last weekend against Michigan State, Donahey batted .571 (4-for-7) and slugged 1.143 while homering and driving in three runs.
Grace Nieto drew a team-high four walks and posted a .545 on-base percentage over the weekend at Michigan State. Nieto has now drawn 20 walks and stolen five bases in Big Ten play, both conference bests. Nieto's 37 walks this season are tied with Kristen Amegin (2004) for ninth most in program history, and are the most by a Wildcat since Rachel Lewis walked 45 times during her Big Ten Player of the Year campaign in 2022.
Following this weekend's games, Northwestern plays their final home series of the year, hosting Minnesota for three games at The Ballpark at Rosemont.
The Wildcats and Boilermakers open the series at 4 pm CT on Friday, followed by a 1 pm CT meeting on Saturday, before wrapping up the series at 12 pm CT on Sunday. All three games will be streamed on B1G+.
Northwestern enters the weekend with a 24-19 record and an 11-7 mark in conference play, currently sitting at sixth in the conference standings and ranked 49th nationally in RPI. The Boilermakers sit No. 38 in RPI and are 32-15 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten, ranking eighth in the conference.
Northwestern and Purdue have faced off 74 times in their history, with the Wildcats holding the all-time edge at 52-22. The most recent matchup between the two teams came at Bittinger Stadium during the 2025 Big Ten Tournament and resulted in a 4-2 victory for the hosts Purdue.
Most recently, Northwestern earned a 5-4 comeback win on the road on Tuesday at Northern Illinois. After falling behind 3-0 in the second inning, the Wildcats evened the score in the fourth frame thanks to a two-run homer from Kansas Robinson and an RBI-double from Isabel Cunnea. Northern Illinois took the lead again in the bottom of the fourth, 4-3, before the 'Cats stormed back in the top of the seventh, tying the game on a Kaylie Avvisato RBI-double and taking the lead for good on a sacrifice fly by Emma Raye. Marina Mason closed the game with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief for Northwestern, striking out three while allowing just three hits.
On Monday, Mason earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors after going 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 13 strikeouts in a weekend sweep of Michigan State. Mason leads the Wildcat pitching staff this season with a 2.28 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 113.2 innings of work. The Brentwood, Tennessee native has held opponents to a .181 batting average against, and her 4.68 hits per seven innings are the second lowest in the nation among first years.
The accolades keep coming for Marina Mason ???? pic.twitter.com/CqKdKDJExb
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) April 21, 2026
Mason continued to earn accolades on Thursday as she was named a Top-25 finalist for the 2026 NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25 list. She is one of six players from the Big Ten Conference to be a Top-25 finalist from the award, as well as one of eight pitchers on the list. Mason is the third player in program history to be named a Top-25 finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year award, joining Rachel Lewis (2018) and Danielle Williams (2019). Williams went on to win the award in 2019, becoming the first and only Big Ten player to earn the honor.
Emma Raye continues to lead the Wildcats on offense, driving in the winning run against Northern Illinois on Tuesday, and posting team-highs in batting average (.625), slugging percentage (1.750), and RBI (9) in the weekend sweep of Michigan State. Raye is hitting .412 on the season with 12 home runs and 50 RBI, and her .832 slugging percentage is ninth best among all catchers in Division I. With 51 RBI on the season, Raye is two RBI away from passing former Wildcat catcher and current Purdue assistant Jordyn Rudd for the most RBI by a Northwestern catcher (52; 2022) in a single season.
Kaylie Avvisato enters the weekend riding a career-long 21-game on base streak, during which she is hitting .414 (29-for-70) with 26 RBI and 31 runs scored. Avvisato leads Northwestern with 11 doubles this season, including a game-tying RBI in the win over Northern Illinois. Avvisato is hitting .356 (21-for-59) with 19 RBI and 10 extra base hits in Big Ten play this season, second on the team behind only Raye (11).
Bridget Donahey is hitting .340 (18-for-53) and slugging .623 in conference play, the third-highest mark on the team. Last weekend against Michigan State, Donahey batted .571 (4-for-7) and slugged 1.143 while homering and driving in three runs.
Grace Nieto drew a team-high four walks and posted a .545 on-base percentage over the weekend at Michigan State. Nieto has now drawn 20 walks and stolen five bases in Big Ten play, both conference bests. Nieto's 37 walks this season are tied with Kristen Amegin (2004) for ninth most in program history, and are the most by a Wildcat since Rachel Lewis walked 45 times during her Big Ten Player of the Year campaign in 2022.
Following this weekend's games, Northwestern plays their final home series of the year, hosting Minnesota for three games at The Ballpark at Rosemont.
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/ SoftballSoftball - 'Cats Earn Series Sweep, Earn 8-0 Run-Rule Win Over Michigan State (4/19/20)
Monday, April 20
Softball - Wildcats Secure Series Victory with 8-7 Win vs. Michigan State (4/18/26)
Saturday, April 18
Softball - Marina Mason Tosses One-Hit Shutout, 'Cats Run-Rule Michigan State, 10-0 (4/17/26)
Saturday, April 18
Softball - Wildcats Earn Series Sweep at Penn State with 17-3 Run-Rule (4/12/26)
Sunday, April 12
