vs
| 04/27/19 - Away | 12-9 W |
| 04/28/18 - Neutral | 7-4 W |
| 04/29/17 - Away | 5-0 W |
Northwestern has gone a perfect 3-0 against Whitko recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Wednesday. The Tigers are taking a road trip to face off against the Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. Northwestern has given up an average of 10.2 runs per game this season, but Wednesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
It was a proper cat-fight when Northwestern duked it out with Western on Tuesday. The Tigers came up short against the Panthers, falling 12-2. That's two games in a row now that the Tigers have lost by exactly ten runs.
Bailey Marcus was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. That one hit allowed gave her a new career-low. She was even better at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two RBI, and one double.
Marcus wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Stevie-Rae Hedges, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Whitko). They blew past Triton 17-0 on Monday. With that victory, the Wildcats brought their scoring average up to 6.5 runs per game.
Like Northwestern, Whitko also got a great game from a two-way player: Addie Garr. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Garr has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run and four RBI. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Whitko got a big performance out of Hannah Long, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Sophie Keener was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
Whitko always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .650. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Whitko is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.2 runs over those games. As for Northwestern, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 2-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Northwestern has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Whitko struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Northwestern beat Whitko 12-9 when the teams last played back in April of 2019. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
