Northwestern Softball Humbled at Home by No. 23 Team in the Country

The Wildcats were swept in Evanston this weekend.

Lauren Boyd winds up to throw a pitch. | Photo: Northwestern Athletics

It was a rough weekend for Northwestern in Evanston against No. 23 Nebraska. The Cornhuskers were unrelenting offensively, and their pitching staff was able to largely shut down the 'Cats' lineup. The result was a fairly uncompetitive three-game sweep.

Game one was over in the second inning. Northwestern starter Lauren Boyd had a nightmarish outing, allowing five earned runs in one total inning pitched. She was out there to start the second, but she failed to record an out as Nebraska pushed eight total runs across the plate in the inning.

Kaylie Avvisato homered for Northwestern in the game, but that was its only offense. Nebraska starting pitcher Jordy Bahl cruised, and the 'Huskers won by a final score of 11-1.

Game two yielded an extremely similar result. Northwestern faced a large deficit early after a four-run first frame from Nebraska. Riley Grudzielanek started this one for the Wildcats, but she only recorded one out in the contest as the 'Huskers jumped all over her right away.

Northwestern again was only able to put one run on the board, this time on a Kansas Robinson homer, and it fell 10-1 in game two.

Game three was by far the most competitive game, but Northwestern still couldn't wake up its bats. Boyd bounced back in this one, holding down the fort in the early innings. She threw 6.1 innings and allowed just two earned runs.

But that was more than enough to beat Northwestern which was completely shut down for seven innings by Bahl. The 'Cats recorded just two hits in the entire game and were shut out 3-0.

After a humbling series at home against a ranked opponent, Northwestern is now 20-15-1 overall and 9-4 in conference play. The team had previously been dominant against Big Ten competition, but Nebraska was a different story.

The Wildcats now sit fifth in the Big Ten standings, as Nebraska climbed to 11-3 and sole possession of third. UCLA and Oregon are both 12-1 and sit at the top of the conference.

Northwestern will be back in action looking for redemption on Wednesday against Loyola Chicago in a stand-alone game. The 'Cats will then be on the road next weekend at Rutgers for a series.