That Big Ten regular season trophy has found a permanent home in Evanston.
Wow — they actually did it! After going 2-1 this weekend, Northwestern clinched the Big Ten regular season title for a third consecutive season. Despite dropping the Saturday match 8-3, the 6-3 and 4-2 wins over Indiana on Friday and Sunday brought Northwestern to the promised land and ensured the weekend would finish with a tub of Gatorade being poured on Kate Drohan. There’s so much to say about this electric weekend, so I won’t waste any more time before diving into the five things to know from the final series of the regular season.
1. Big Ten supremacy
This is dynasty-type stuff. For the first time since 1984-1987, the ‘Cats have won three regular season titles in a row. And despite the dominance in recent years, it would be revisionist history to act like this was always the expected result.
After a mass exodus of legendary players, Northwestern’s starting lineup featured four new starters and a brand new pitcher, and the team had to survive injuries that prevented Lauren Boyd and Grace Nieto from seeing the field for a single pitch. This team retooled, not rebuilt in one of the most impressive coaching jobs I can remember in a good while. Over the course of the season, this team has matured and improved in front of our eyes, and it’s only right that it culminates in some hardware.
The regular season title also means that Northwestern will enter the Big Ten Tournament as the top-ranked team, earning one of the four byes in the first round. Northwestern is seeking back-to-back tournament titles and has a chance to step on the rest of the conference by winning five of the last six trophies handed out.
2. The home winning streak has come to an end
After two years, one month and one day, Northwestern’s nation-best home winning streak has been snapped.
The melancholy was erased by the jubilance of Sunday’s clincher, but thanks to a talented Indiana team stealing a game on Saturday, one of the coolest records in college softball comes to a close at 38 games.
No opponent won at Sharon J. Drysdale Field for 762 calendar days, and that is in large part thanks to the purple faithful. I’m biased, but there are no better fans in the Big Ten. The team setting a regular season attendance record with a sold-out Sunday crowd is further evidence. After Sunday’s win, the home victory streak is back up to one, and with this crowd, Northwestern can get back to 38 in no time.
3. Ashley Miller: the straw that stirs the drink
The single biggest storyline going into postseason play is the type of play Northwestern gets from Ashley Miller. She determines the ceiling of this team, and often, the floor. And recently, she’s been a bit uncharacteristic.
In Friday’s game, Miller was chased out in the second inning. She didn’t give up a single hit and only allowed one earned run, but as you’ll begin to see, walks have become an emerging issue. In Friday’s contest she issued five before recording a fourth out. Making a relief appearance on Saturday, she allowed two runs (both unearned) but walked another five batters in under three innings of work. On Sunday, Miller earned the win and nearly completed the game (with Renae Cunningham earning the save for throwing the final out) but allowed another eight Hoosiers a trot down the first-base line.
Over the course of the weekend, Miller threw 10 total innings and walked 18 batters. Her accuracy was far less consistent as only 108 of her 242 pitches this weekend were strikes, for an unusually low rate of 44.6%. Even more strange are the eight wild pitches Miller threw over the weekend, several of which allowed Hoosiers to advance on the base paths in high-leverage situations.
So that’s the bad news. The good news is that despite putting herself in precarious situations, Miller only allowed three earned runs all weekend. I also think it’s important qualify that a.) this Indiana team has fierce hitters up and down the order and draws walks amongst the best in the conference and b.) I thought the umpiring was particularly inconsistent in both Friday and Saturday’s games, especially in the low part of the strike zone, where Miller works a lot of her magic. Miller still ends the regular season tops in the conference in ERA and should certainly be in the mix for Big Ten Pitcher of the Year (more on that tomorrow!).
4. Not everyone has the clutch gene, but this team does
With the way this team performs in stressful situations, you would never know how young the roster is.
On the offensive side, this team engineered two comeback victories this weekend. After falling behind 3-0 on Friday, the ‘Cats rattled off six unanswered, and most impressively, scored five of those six with two outs. On Sunday, Northwestern quickly dug itself out of a 2-0 hole with quality at-bats and then let the pitching save the day.
All weekend long it felt like Indiana was living on the base paths, which meant Northwestern was consistently escaping jams. In the three games, the Hoosiers hit just 1-for-8 with the bases loaded, and just 2-for-21 with two outs. The stranded runners and missed opportunities were the difference in both Northwestern wins, and without the clutch pitching, the Wildcats may be trophy-less and entering the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed.
5. Welcome to the postseason!
It’s been a long (and very fun!) regular season, but this is what it’s all for. These next few weeks of softball are as good as it gets. First, because of how this weekend shook out (with a massive assist from Ohio State, who stole two of three from Michigan) Northwestern earned the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament in Iowa City.
The team won’t have to play until Thursday but will need three wins to claim the title. In the first game, Northwestern will play the winner of the Battle for Indiana, who are two of the three teams to take a conference game from the ‘Cats this year. Nebraska and Minnesota, two of the preseason favorites, also reside in Northwestern’s side of the bracket, but the ‘Cats went 3-0 against both those squads this year. A rematch with Michigan would not occur until the title game.
For most of these teams competing for the Big Ten crown, a loss would end their season, but not Northwestern. The ‘Cats will be playing in the 64-team NCAA Tournament, but the question is where. In the regional round, the top 16 seeds get to host a group of four teams in a double-elimination tournament. Last year the ‘Cats got to host, but that is in jeopardy this season. Softball America ranks the ‘Cats at No. 20 while the ESPN/USA Softball poll lands Northwestern at No. 23. To have a realistic shot at an Evanston regional, Northwestern must win the Big Ten Tournament. Otherwise, the ‘Cats will hit the road to try and make a Super Regional for a third straight season.
Weekly Awards
Weekend MVP: Although I want to give it to a senior on Senior Day, without question it’s Kelsey Nader (5-for-10, three RBIs, HR, 2B, BB) who now has 14 multi-hit games in 22 conference games and had a massive three-run homer that gave Northwestern the lead in the sixth inning of Friday’s comeback win.
Best Play: I just spoiled it, but because of the score and time in the game, nothing else this weekend holds a candle to that Kelsey Nader homer. Find yourself a hitter who not only doesn’t strike out (zero in her last 14 games — no strikeouts since April 6) but can also hit dingers.
‘CATS. IN. FRONT. pic.twitter.com/Ifyb2VeFCf
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) May 3, 2024
First-year shoutout: She may have only had two hits this weekend, but Emma Raye made them count, launching both off of Welsh-Ryan Arena. The first home run of the two was as much of a no-doubter as no-doubters get. The second it was off the bat, everyone in the stadium knew it was gone. The second one was even more clutch, giving Northwestern a 4-2 lead that it would hold onto for the rest of Sunday’s game.
Ethan’s favorite NU Softball thing he saw this week: Lots of options on a weekend full of celebration, but I’m choosing something that happened before Northwestern took the field this weekend. Right before Friday’s game, legendary Northwestern coach Sharon J. Drysdale, who’s name you probably recognize, tossed out the first pitch. And folks, she’s still got it. The pitch hit Emma Raye right in the glove for a strike.
Welcome Home, Drysie pic.twitter.com/B7fh2krFl4
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) May 3, 2024
That’s all for this week’s column! As I teased earlier, follow Inside NU all week for softball coverage leading up to and during this week’s Big Ten Tournament. The staff is putting together some phenomenal stuff. And, of course, I’ll be back next week to share my insights on the Big Ten Tourney and the upcoming NCAA Regionals after the Selection Show on Sunday night.