Jonathan Alder is 6-1 against Northwestern since April of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Pioneers will welcome the Warriors at 5:15 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Jonathan Alder's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They blew past Urbana 12-0. The Pioneers haven't had any issues with the Hillclimbers recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.
Macy Pruitt looked comfortable as she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
Owyn Johnson
| 04/16/25 @ Urbana | 3 |
| 04/12/25 vs Madison Plains | 2 |
| 04/14/25 vs Urbana | 1 |
| 04/11/25 @ Graham Local | 1 |
| 04/07/25 @ London | 1 |
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Owyn Johnson, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. Those three runs gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kylie Petersheim, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Jonathan Alder was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .448. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .300 or higher in six consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Northwestern hadn't done well against Graham Local recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Warriors put the hurt on the Falcons with a sharp 21-10 victory.
Northwestern got a massive performance out of Azzy Hammer, who went 4-for-6 with four runs, three RBI, and two doubles. Those doubles marked the first that Hammer has hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Julia Shaw, who went 3-for-6 with three stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI.
Northwestern's win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 5-3. As for Jonathan Alder, the victory got them back to even at 7-7.
Friday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Jonathan Alder hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .348. However, it's not like Northwestern struggles in that department as they've averaged .341. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Jonathan Alder's way against Northwestern in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Jonathan Alder made off with a 10-2 win. Will the Pioneers repeat their success, or do the Warriors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
