Softball: Five things to know from a bounce back week on the diamond

A much-needed dose of winning.

Now there’s the Northwestern softball team we’re used to.

After a major step back a weekend ago against Nebraska, Northwestern shook off the sweep with an undefeated week, pummeling Loyola 13-0 in the midweek before a weekend road sweep over Rutgers. With only two weeks left in the regular season, here are five things to know about the ‘Cats’ most recent developments.

1. A stretch of dominance reminiscent of past years

Yes, Northwestern’s perfect week came against a middling Loyola team and a Rutgers squad at the bottom of the Big Ten, but it’s still great to see the ‘Cats take care of business. Last week in this column, I wrote, “Northwestern not only needs to go 4-0, but to put it lightly, the ‘Cats need to beat the brakes off these teams to have me feeling better about postseason chances.”

I’m pleased to announce the ‘Cats delivered, including two run-rule wins, three shutouts and two one-hitters (should have had a no-hitter if not for some poor umpiring). Northwestern outscored its opponents 34-2 with an average margin of victory of eight runs. This week not only provided a crucial boost in the standings, but also a major bump in confidence levels and general vibes.

2. Emptying out the bench

Because of the blowouts, Northwestern gave some of its reserves a rare chance to see at-bats in both the Loyola game and series finale against Rutgers, and the results were… awesome?

Against Loyola, Kate Dowden roped a triple, Lauren Curry recorded her first career hit, Grace Minarovic walked and hit a RBI single to the wall and Signe Dohse notched her first career home run while also looking sharp at third base. Then on Sunday, Hannah Cushing added her first career hit while Dowden worked on with a hit by pitch.

Aside from being another vibes booster and a legitimately positive influence on the team’s winning, it was great to see all of the reserves get their moment. So much work goes on behind the scenes and every player on the roster does so much to be loud in the dugout each game. Even if most of these players will grow into bigger roles down the line, it was fun to get a taste of what we can expect.

3. Northwestern is turning the game into a track meet

We’ve been covering this storyline for a handful of weeks, but what Northwestern is doing on the base paths is so impressive. After another 18 stolen bases this week (including a whopping nine in the first game of the series against Rutgers), Northwestern ranks second in the Big Ten in stolen bases and has 10 more than any other team in Big Ten play. Five of the top eight steal-getters in conference play are Wildcats (with the other three all playing for Oregon).

But aggression on the base paths is not just limited to stealing bases. Watch a Northwestern game and you’ll know exactly what I mean. I can’t even count the number of times that the Wildcats have turned singles into doubles or stolen an extra 60 feet when a ball dribbles out of the glove of a fielder. The ‘Cats are constantly finding ways to put pressure on the defense, including the patented steal with runners on the corners, which puts defenses in a bind and has led to numerous runs this season. For a team that is middle of the pack pitching-wise and has struggled with hitting inconsistencies, these are the types of ways Northwestern can win in the margins.

4. A dominant week in the circle

Allowing just two runs in 24 innings is impressive, regardless of the quality of the opponent. In four games this week, Northwestern’s opponents hit just .103 overall and even more impressively, just 1-of-33 (.030) with runners on base.

The effort was spearheaded by another two beauties from Lauren Boyd, who threw six innings of scoreless softball with 10 strikeouts in the first game of the weekend series and bookended it with another four scoreless in the finale. The 10 innings without surrendering a run lowered Boyd’s ERA in conference play to 2.39 and an opposing batting average of .196. All the pitchers saw action at points this week, including a sensational performance from Renae Cunningham, but Boyd was certainly the highlight.

5. Ayana Lindsey is finding her offense

After a slow start to the season, I was worried that Lindsey’s reinsertion into Northwestern’s starting nine would look similar and stunt the production in the bottom of the lineup. I’ve been extremely happy to be wrong. After homering against Loyola, Lindsey reached base five times across three games in East Piscataway and stole four bases. Her overall season stats still don’t look great, but in conference play, she’s hitting .267 with a .450 on-base percentage. If she can keep it up, it completely alters Northwestern’s offensive attack.

Weekly Awards

Week MVP: Lots of options this week, but I’m going with Lauren Boyd (10.0 innings pitched, three hits allowed, no runs, 16 strikeouts, two wins), who gives this team its best chance to make a postseason run.

Best Play: Another week, another sick diving catch. This week, it was Kaylie Avvisato’s turn.

Big Ten Lookaround: The best series of the Big Ten calendar took place this weekend, and although none of the games provided much drama, the result is still fascinating. I’m taking a personal victory lap after Oregon took the series from UCLA, not only proving my preseason predictions correct but also claiming sole possession of first place in the conference with two weeks to go. If they can take the series this weekend at Indiana, I think it’ll be tough for anyone else to steal the conference crown.

What I’m watching for next week: The Wildcats should have no trouble handling UIC in the midweek, who enters with an 8-38 record, but Wisconsin provides a real test for this squad in the final home series of the year (and the final games before the J is renovated). The Badgers have been hot as of late and have been mashing the ball in conference play, but Northwestern should have the upper hand. And with UCLA and Nebraska both having tough matchups this weekend, Northwestern has a chance to rise up the standings before the all-important regular season capper in Los Angeles.

Ethan’s favorite NU softball thing he saw this week: How about all the firsts this week?

• First career home run for Signe Dohse
• First career extra-base hit for Kate Dowden
• First career hit for Lauren Curry
• First career hit for Hannah Cushing

That’s all for this week. After a midweek road trip to UIC, Northwestern will play its final home series of the season against Wisconsin this weekend. The weather should be nice, so I better see you there! I’ll be back next Monday to break down all of the action!