Previewing Northwestern softball’s NCAA Regional

How do the ‘Cats matchup with everyone else in the four-team regional?

Despite an up-and-down season that ended with Northwestern nearly giving its tournament bid away in a first-round Big Ten Tournament exit, the ‘Cats still find themselves in the NCAA tournament after all. But now comes the hard part: advancing. So, how do the Wildcats stack up against their three other opponents in the Clemson Regional?

No. 11 Clemson (No. 1 seed)

The basics:

Since officially becoming a program at the university in 2020, Clemson softball has been consistently one of the best-performing teams not just on campus, but in the nation. Under head coach John Rittman, the Tigers have had five straight winning seasons now and have yet to miss out on the NCAA Tournament (save for the cancelled 2020 season).

This year, Clemson got off to a rocky start to its season but quickly righted the ship, ultimately finishing the year 44-12 (19-5 in the ACC), good for second in the ACC. Riding that momentum, the Tigers won three straight games en route to their first ever ACC Championship as a program, securing an automatic bid.

Player to watch:

Reese Basinger, RHP

Clemson is filled with a star-studded cast, especially on the offensive end. But if there’s any single player to highlight from this Tigers squad, it’s Basinger. A former transfer from Winthrop, Basinger was a big get for Rittman and Co. when she announced she would be heading to Clemson before the 2024-25 season. The three-time All-Big South selection was primed to breakout for the Tigers, and she did just that.

Basinger was dominant from the first pitch she threw in her debut in orange and purple back in early February, and she never looked back. The 5’11” senior dominated, ranking top ten in the conference in ERA, strikeouts, innings pitched and wins. And people noticed: her stat line of 16-5 win-loss, 2.92 ERA, 114 strikeouts and 10 complete games was good enough to earn her ACC Pitcher of the Year.

How does NU match up?:

It’s no surprise to anybody that this matchup will far and away be the most challenging for Northwestern in its regional. Clemson are not only the defending ACC champions and host team, but also one of the fringe contenders for a national championship, NU will have its hands full trying to compete. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

For Northwestern to beat the hosts, it’ll have to go toe for toe with Clemson’s star power — stars like Kansas Robinson, Izzy Cunnea and Kaylie Avvisato will need to fuel the offense and not let the moment get to them. On the mound, too, the ‘Cats will have to tame the Tigers’ electric offensive prowess with some seriously lights-out pitching. Northwestern will need the Lauren Boyd who won two games against No. 8 UCLA if it wants to pull of the upset.

Those UCLA wins show Northwestern is capable; it’s just a matter of whether head coach Kate Drohan has her squad mentally ready to do so.

Kentucky (No. 2 seed)

The basics:

At a glance, it might seem confusing as to why Kentucky earned a spot in the College World Series, no less as a two-seed in the regional: a 29-26 overall record and 7-17 conference record doesn’t do much to show any sort of dominance this past season. But, as in many other sports, the SEC is a tough place to play. Despite finishing 13th in the conference and losing in the first round of the SEC Tournament, Kentucky’s resume is one of the best in the nation solely because of its stacked schedule.

Playing in a conference that ultimately saw 13 different teams make the tournament was no easy task, and gave the Wildcats (this is going to get confusing, isn’t it?) plenty of opportunities to grab quality wins. And they did just that, taking multiple ranked opponents, and even defeating Clemson back in February.

Player to watch:

Hallie Mitchell, C

I went with the all-conference selection here, if not for any other reason than purely because of how impressive it is to be an All-SEC selection this year. Mitchell was both one of Kentucky’s most consistent hitters (.311 average) and had one of the more powerful swings in the lineup, with an impressive .921 OPS and five homers on the year.

The senior catcher has been one of the leading voices on this year’s UK roster and is always reliable behind the plate as well. Kentucky, similar to Clemson, has plenty of other big names scattered throughout the lineup, but Mitchell is clearly the X-factor for this team as its on-the-field leader.

How does NU match up?

Given that Kentucky will be Northwestern’s first matchup this coming Friday at 1 p.m. CT, the ‘Cats will have some time to prepare for the Wildcats of the South. One thing NU will need to capitalize upon is momentum; while Northwestern garnered a few big wins under its belt as the season wrapped up, Kentucky more so limped to the finish line, losing eight of its final ten games. Softbal, arguably more than any other sport, is a game defined by momentum throughout a season.

Although both teams are technically coming off losses, Northwestern has the upper hand here. If NU can get going early and get the bats going, it should have no problem clawing its way past UK in this Wildcats vs. Wildcats bout.

USC Upstate (No. 4 seed)

The basics:

The second of four teams to have a conference championship under its belt this season, USC Upstate finished third in regular season play in the Big South, but dominated on its way to a second-straight conference championship, snatching the trophy from top-seeded Radford.

Even if not as forceful in the Big South as the Spartans had hoped heading into the spring, they made up for it in non-conference play, finishing 39-14 despite just a 10-8 conference record. Upstate will be looking to grab an upset win this year after its postseason ended abruptly with back-to-back losses (the second one being Clemson) in the 2024 tournament.

Player to watch:

Sophia Kardatzke, RHP

As with Clemson and Kentucky, there were a lot of players I had to choose from for this spot. The Big South All-Conference teams were littered with Spartans, but I decided to go with Kardatzke because of how big of an impact she’s made this year despite being just a first-year.

The six-foot right-hander out of Jacksonville, Florida not only earned a spot on the First Team All-Big South, but was named co-Freshman of the Year after a really solid showing in his first collegiate season. Kardatzke both pitched and hit, but shined most on the mound. In her 14 appearances and 45 total innings, she tallied a 3.11 ERA and 40 strikeouts while holding opposing batters to a .178 average and just one homerun the entire year.

How does NU match up?:

If NU loses its opening matchup against Kentucky, it will likely face the fourth-seeded Spartans with a chance to redeem itself. Of course, the Wildcats will be favored in this matchup, but by no means does that mean that they ought to underestimate Upstate. USCU has already proven its ability to pull off an upset, having done so in the conference tournament in back-to-back years now and will have nothing to lose in the scenario it plays Northwestern. So, staying on their toes and fighting a full seven innings will be important to avoid an upset and untimely elimination from the NCAA Tournament.