Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, May 1
Rosemont, Ill.
1 pm CT
Northwestern
28-19, 15-7
5
vs
1
Minnesota
15-34, 6-16
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Northwestern | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 5 | 9 | 2 |
Photo by: Kailey Zagst/Northwestern Athletics
Wildcats Win Fourth-Straight Series to Close Regular Season
5/4/2026 12:36:00 AM | Softball
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Northwestern wrapped up its regular season with its fourth straight Big Ten series victory, taking two of three games over the Minnesota Golden Gophers at The Ballpark at Rosemont.
Northwestern opened the weekend with a 5-1 win over Minnesota on Friday afternoon, extending its winning streak to 11-straight games. The Gophers snapped that streak on Saturday evening with a narrow 3-2 victory, however the Wildcats bounced back with a 6-0 victory on Sunday night, rallying with six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to earn the series victory.
Marina Mason led the Wildcats in the circle over the weekend, tossing two complete games headlined by a one-hit complete game shutout and a career high 12 strikeouts in Sunday's 6-0 win. Mason carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and finished the weekend with a 0.50 ERA (1 ER/14.0 IP) and a .085 opposing batting average. Over her last 10 outings to close the regular season, Mason is 10-0 with six complete games, four shutouts, a 1.54 ERA (12 ER/54.2 IP), 62 strikeouts while limiting opposing hitters to a .150 batting average. Her seven shutouts are tied for the most among Big Ten pitchers, while her .176 opponent batting average this season also leads the conference.
In Friday's victory, Northwestern jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with a two-out RBI-single from Kansas Robinson in the first inning, followed by another two-out RBI-single from Grace Nieto in the second inning. After Minnesota narrowed the deficit to 2-1 in the third inning, the 'Cats responded with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead. Mason allowed just three hits in the game, throwing 122 pitches while retiring eight of the last nine batters she faced to secure the win.
The Gophers plated all three of their runs in the top of the first inning on Saturday, which proved to be the difference. Signe Dohse entered in relief in the top of the first with the bases loaded, no outs and tossed a gem, allowing just two hits while matching career highs with 7.0 innings pitched and seven strikeouts on the evening. Emma Raye finished the night 3-for-3 with a two-run home run in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to one. It marked a team-leading fifth three-hit performance of the season for Raye.
The Wildcats and Gophers were locked in a pitcher's duel on Sunday, as both teams carried no-hit bids into the sixth inning. Northwestern jumpstarted a rally with a lead-off walk from Teagan McCue, followed by a successful sacrifice bunt by Tru Medina to move pinch-runner Kate Renschen into scoring position. With two-outs, Kaylie Avvisato came through with a two-out single up the middle to put the 'Cats in front. Avvisato's hit began a string of seven-straight Wildcat batters reaching base with two-outs. Robinson drove in two with a single through the right side, followed by an RBI-double by fellow senior Kelsey Nader to extend the lead to 4-0. Four pitches later, Isabel Cunnea came through with a two-out RBI-single to force a Minnesota pitching change and extend the lead to 6-0.
In total, nine of Northwestern's 12 runs scored throughout the weekend series came with two outs. As a team, the Wildcats hit 12-for-31 with two outs, while Northwestern's pitchers limited Minnesota hitters to just a .045 clip (1-for-22) with two outs. This marks Northwestern's third-straight series victory over Minnesota, having swept the Gophers in three-game sets in 2023 and 2025.
Emma Raye led the Wildcats at the plate throughout the weekend, going 4-for-9 with three RBI. With a team-leading 57 RBI on the year, Raye now sits 7th in single-season program history in a mark that is already the most-ever by a Wildcat catcher. Raye's .789 slugging percentage would rank as 5th-highest in program history (trailing only Adrienne Monka, Tammy Williams and Rachel Lewis), while her .394 batting average would rank 11th-best in a single-season, and the highest mark by an NU player since Andrea Filler in 2015 (.395). In Northwestern's last four Big Ten series, Raye is hitting .538 (21-for-39) with a 1.103 SLG%, a .578 on-base percentage, 15 runs scored and 21 RBI.
Kaylie Avvisato recorded a hit in each game and is now riding a 7-game hitting streak and a career-high 27 game reached base streak. During that reached base streak, Avvisato is hitting .418 (38-for-91) with 30 RBI and 37 runs scored. The sophomore finished Big Ten play hitting .375 (30-for-80) with 23 RBI and a team-leading 27 runs scored.
Northwestern has now won 12 of 13 games to close the regular season, outscoring opponents 102-35 in those games. The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 16-8 mark in Big Ten play, earning the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. This marks the Wildcats' eight-straight season earning a Top-6 finish in the conference, tied for the third-longest streak in program history (14-straight years from 1982-95 under Sharon Drysdale, as well as Kate Drohan's first nine years from 2002-10).
The Wildcats will head to the University of Maryland for the Big Ten Tournament, opening action on Wednesday evening, with a primetime matchup against No. 11 seed Penn State beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT. Action throughout the Big Ten Tournament will be televised live on Big Ten Network.
Northwestern opened the weekend with a 5-1 win over Minnesota on Friday afternoon, extending its winning streak to 11-straight games. The Gophers snapped that streak on Saturday evening with a narrow 3-2 victory, however the Wildcats bounced back with a 6-0 victory on Sunday night, rallying with six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to earn the series victory.
Marina Mason led the Wildcats in the circle over the weekend, tossing two complete games headlined by a one-hit complete game shutout and a career high 12 strikeouts in Sunday's 6-0 win. Mason carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and finished the weekend with a 0.50 ERA (1 ER/14.0 IP) and a .085 opposing batting average. Over her last 10 outings to close the regular season, Mason is 10-0 with six complete games, four shutouts, a 1.54 ERA (12 ER/54.2 IP), 62 strikeouts while limiting opposing hitters to a .150 batting average. Her seven shutouts are tied for the most among Big Ten pitchers, while her .176 opponent batting average this season also leads the conference.
Marina Mason Appreciation Post ??
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) May 4, 2026
?? Career high in strikeouts (12)
?? 1-hit shutout
?? 10 straight wins in the circle pic.twitter.com/Xy9b7Y3bZg
In Friday's victory, Northwestern jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with a two-out RBI-single from Kansas Robinson in the first inning, followed by another two-out RBI-single from Grace Nieto in the second inning. After Minnesota narrowed the deficit to 2-1 in the third inning, the 'Cats responded with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead. Mason allowed just three hits in the game, throwing 122 pitches while retiring eight of the last nine batters she faced to secure the win.
The Gophers plated all three of their runs in the top of the first inning on Saturday, which proved to be the difference. Signe Dohse entered in relief in the top of the first with the bases loaded, no outs and tossed a gem, allowing just two hits while matching career highs with 7.0 innings pitched and seven strikeouts on the evening. Emma Raye finished the night 3-for-3 with a two-run home run in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to one. It marked a team-leading fifth three-hit performance of the season for Raye.
The Wildcats and Gophers were locked in a pitcher's duel on Sunday, as both teams carried no-hit bids into the sixth inning. Northwestern jumpstarted a rally with a lead-off walk from Teagan McCue, followed by a successful sacrifice bunt by Tru Medina to move pinch-runner Kate Renschen into scoring position. With two-outs, Kaylie Avvisato came through with a two-out single up the middle to put the 'Cats in front. Avvisato's hit began a string of seven-straight Wildcat batters reaching base with two-outs. Robinson drove in two with a single through the right side, followed by an RBI-double by fellow senior Kelsey Nader to extend the lead to 4-0. Four pitches later, Isabel Cunnea came through with a two-out RBI-single to force a Minnesota pitching change and extend the lead to 6-0.
In total, nine of Northwestern's 12 runs scored throughout the weekend series came with two outs. As a team, the Wildcats hit 12-for-31 with two outs, while Northwestern's pitchers limited Minnesota hitters to just a .045 clip (1-for-22) with two outs. This marks Northwestern's third-straight series victory over Minnesota, having swept the Gophers in three-game sets in 2023 and 2025.
Emma Raye led the Wildcats at the plate throughout the weekend, going 4-for-9 with three RBI. With a team-leading 57 RBI on the year, Raye now sits 7th in single-season program history in a mark that is already the most-ever by a Wildcat catcher. Raye's .789 slugging percentage would rank as 5th-highest in program history (trailing only Adrienne Monka, Tammy Williams and Rachel Lewis), while her .394 batting average would rank 11th-best in a single-season, and the highest mark by an NU player since Andrea Filler in 2015 (.395). In Northwestern's last four Big Ten series, Raye is hitting .538 (21-for-39) with a 1.103 SLG%, a .578 on-base percentage, 15 runs scored and 21 RBI.
Kaylie Avvisato recorded a hit in each game and is now riding a 7-game hitting streak and a career-high 27 game reached base streak. During that reached base streak, Avvisato is hitting .418 (38-for-91) with 30 RBI and 37 runs scored. The sophomore finished Big Ten play hitting .375 (30-for-80) with 23 RBI and a team-leading 27 runs scored.
Northwestern has now won 12 of 13 games to close the regular season, outscoring opponents 102-35 in those games. The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 16-8 mark in Big Ten play, earning the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. This marks the Wildcats' eight-straight season earning a Top-6 finish in the conference, tied for the third-longest streak in program history (14-straight years from 1982-95 under Sharon Drysdale, as well as Kate Drohan's first nine years from 2002-10).
The Wildcats will head to the University of Maryland for the Big Ten Tournament, opening action on Wednesday evening, with a primetime matchup against No. 11 seed Penn State beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT. Action throughout the Big Ten Tournament will be televised live on Big Ten Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mason, Marina (17-8)
L: Susa, Natali (1-8)
Batting:
RBI: Snippes, Jes 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Cas 1
Batting:
2B: Nader, Kelsey 1
3B: Nieto, Grace 1
RBI: Nieto, Grace 1 ; Raye, Emma 1 ; Robinson, Kansas 1 ; Nader, Kelsey 1
SF: Raye, Emma 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nieto, Grace 2 ; Robinson, Kansas 1 ; Donahey, Bridget 1 ; Cunnea, Isabel 1
SB: Nader, Kelsey 1
HBP: Nieto, Grace 1 ; Medina, Tru 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/U
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballSoftball - Marina Mason Tosses One-Hit Shutout, 'Cats Claim Series Win vs. Minnesota (5/3/26)
Monday, May 04
The Foundation: Northwestern Softball | 2026 Senior Class
Friday, May 01
Softball - Wildcats Open Weekend with 5-1 Win Over Minnesota (5/1/26)
Friday, May 01
Softball - Marina Mason's Complete Game Shutout Fuels a 1-0 Series Sweeping Win at Purdue - 4/26/26
Sunday, April 26
