Softball: Five things to know from a humbling 1-3 week at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

Something of a reality check.

Last week, when the Wildcats went 2-3 at the Purple & Gold Challenge and struggled to gain traction against the ranked teams on the schedule, I bemoaned the losses that showed what felt like a sizable gap between Northwestern and some of the nation’s best teams.

It appears my criticism may have been a little hasty.

This weekend, Northwestern struggled again. But this time instead of falling to the likes of LSU and Virginia Tech, it was unranked Seattle, Saint Mary’s and California who got the better of the Wildcats. Now sitting at 6-8, there is enough of a sample size to have real concern about the Wildcats. Northwestern has been prone to slow starts, but 2025 has been especially sluggish. Here are five things to know from a reality-check providing weekend in California:

1. When will the bats wake up?

Far and away, the number one issue plaguing the ‘Cats right now is the offense, which managed 15 runs across this weekend’s four games. In its eight losses this season, Northwestern averages just 1.4 runs per game, and that number actually went up this weekend.

Some of Northwestern’s most important contributors are still in early slumps including Kansas Robinson (.209), Kelsey Nader (.214), Emma Raye (.194) and Ayana Lindsey (.115). Riley Grudzielanek, Izzy Cunnea and Avery Garden have also struggled at the plate.

The stat that stands out most to me? Not a single player on Northwestern’s roster currently has more walks than strikeouts. Not one. As a result, Northwestern has the second most strikeouts in the Big Ten and the second-worst batting average.

2. Runners-on regression

It goes hand-in-hand with the previous point, but Northwestern has had an unusually difficult time batting with runners on the base path. Northwestern hit just .195 this weekend with runners on base.

This was especially apparent in the Seattle game, when Northwestern stranded eight runners and the Saint Mary’s loss, where Northwestern had runners on first and second with one out in the seventh inning, needing two runs to tie. From there, a Renae Cunningham strikeout (on her first at-bat of the season — a somewhat curious decision) and an Emma Raye flyout sealed up the shutout loss.

Northwestern is due for some regression to the mean in this category, but it needs to come fast.

3. Needing some strikeouts

While Northwestern is struggling with strikeouts on offense, it’s been just as much of an issue when Northwestern takes the field. Northwestern is last in the conference, forcing just 3.7 strikeouts per seven innings of play. Only 13% of Northwestern’s outs this season have come via the K, down from 21% a year ago and 24% in 2023.

The lack of strikeouts is putting an unusual amount of stress on Northwestern’s defense, which had another five errors this weekend, putting the team at 18 on the season. With over an error a game, Northwestern is on pace to far exceed its totals from the previous two seasons. But this is as much of a pitching issue as it is a defensive problem. More strikeouts would go a long way in taking the burden off the defense’s shoulders.

4. Monitoring more lineup changes

Right now, coach Kate Drohan is throwing lineups at the wall, just trying to see what sticks. I don’t blame her.

Once again, Northwestern made a switch on the left side of the infield, swapping Bridget Donahey and Kaylie Avvisato back to their original spots. Avvisato is now at shortstop once again with Donahey at third.

Offensively, Northwestern tried something new in the final game of the weekend, moving Grace Nieto to the leadoff spot, which bumped Kansas Robinson down to the cleanup spot and put Ayana Lindsey back in the nine-hole. I like this change and expect Northwestern to keep it for next weekend. Raye has continued to fall down the order with her offensive struggles.

On the pitching side, Signe Dohse has continued to see plenty of innings after an impressive performance last weekend. She has quietly become a very reliable pitcher and actually leads the team in batting average against.

5. So, what’s the good news?

That was a whole lot of gray, so I wanted to make sure to spend some time talking about what has gone well for the Wildcats.

I continue to think Lauren Boyd has looked solid, and she reaffirmed that this weekend in Northwestern’s sole win of the slate, throwing 6.2 innings of one-run ball against Utah. She has never been known for inducing strikeouts, but she’s shown an ability to get swings and misses in a handful of games this year.

Coming off injury, Grace Nieto has also maintained her excellent quality of play at the dish. After five hits this weekend, she now leads the team with a .412 batting average and strikes out less than any other Northwestern starter.

Lastly, no Big Ten squad has allowed fewer home runs as a team than the Wildcats (three). Although the pitching has been inconsistent, the team’s ability to prevent the long ball is crucial going forward.

Weekly Awards

Week MVP: This week it’s definitely Grace Nieto (5-for-11, 2 RBI, double, home run) who has earned the right to hit leadoff going forward.

Best Play: It was in a loss, but how about the cannon arm of Kelsey Nader? Most outfielders in the country don’t make this play.

Big Ten Lookaround: I was looking for an excuse to talk about anyone other than UCLA, but they are simply too impressive. Even after a 1-0 loss to Duke (awesome for Northwestern — that win will age nicely), UCLA looks like the team to beat after beating the teams ranked No. 7, 10, 15 and 22 this weekend, including run-rule wins over Nebraska and Arkansas.

What I’m watching for next weekend: I hate to be results-oriented, but I’m watching to see if Northwestern can go 5-0. Louisville is a solid team that has gone 5-2 against Big Ten teams this year, but the Cardinals are absolutely beatable and Northwestern gets three games against Central Michigan and Longwood who are a combined 5-14.

Ethan’s favorite NU Softball thing he saw this week: Imagine being a four-time All-Big Ten honoree and having that not even come close to your greatest career accomplishment.

That’s all for this week. Same place, same time next Monday where I’ll break down Northwestern’s trip to the Cardinal Classic where the Wildcats will play Central Michigan, Longwood (twice) and Louisville (twice).