Northwestern Takes Care of Business Against Big Ten Bottom Feeder
Two weekends ago, Northwestern had a rough go of it at home against then-No. 23 Nebraska. The Wildcats were swept by the 'Huskers, losing two of the games by nine or more runs. It was an ugly setback for a team hoping to be able to compete with the best squads in the Big Ten.
Now, after this past weekend, things seem to be back on track. After walloping Loyola Chicago 13-0 during the week, Northwestern traveled to New Jersey looking for more confidence building wins against Rutgers, the Big Ten's current worst team by record.
The Scarlet Knights have had a bad season, and they currently sit at 1-15 in conference play. The Wildcats contributed three of those 15, sweeping Rutgers in dominant fashion.
Game one featured Northwestern ace Lauren Boyd on the mound. The team leader in ERA (2.64) went six scoreless innings and racked up 10 strikeouts.
Offensively, the 'Cats jumped on Rutgers' starter Ella Harrison early, scoring six runs in the first three innings. The heart of the order did the damage with Kaylie Avvisato and Kansas Robinson driving in four of the six runs. The action was limited after that, and Northwestern won a 6-0 shutout.
Game two was closer. Rutgers was able to get on the board early against Riley Grudzielanek and led 2-1 after two innings. But Renae Cunningham went 5.2 scoreless innings in relief, giving Northwestern a solid chance to come back.
The 'Cats did just that in the top of the fourth, scrapping two runs across the plate on a passed ball and a bases loaded walk. They went on to win 4-2 to secure the series win.
Game three was by far the biggest confidence booster, as Northwestern steamrolled the Scarlet Knights 11-0 in five innings. Boyd was flawless once again in the circle, and the Wildcats were opportunistic on offense. They only had 12 hits in the game en route to 11 runs.
Northwestern is now 24-15-1 overall and 12-4 in the Big Ten. That's good enough to sit even with Nebraska by record for third place in the conference.
The 'Cats will be back in action this week on Tuesday against UIC. They will then play a series at home against Wisconsin over the weekend.
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Ryan Cole is a writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI covering every team on campus. He’s currently a junior at NU where he’s studying journalism and previously wrote and edited for Inside NU. He also studies business with an eye towards eventually helping develop business models to revive local news. In his free time, Cole enjoys watching sports, playing sports, reading the news and singing.