By Logan Schiciano

Editor’s note: Each week, WNUR Sports recaps the news and results from the in-season, non-revenue teams that we cover in order to help our listeners and readers stay connected to the pulse of Northwestern athletics. 

Lacrosse

Results: NCAA Tournament

• 5/13 Round One vs. Central Michigan: 22-7 win
• 5/15 Round Two vs. Michigan: 15-12 win

No. 4-seed Northwestern lacrosse began its quest for an eighth NCAA championship with a bang on Friday against the Central Michigan Chippewas. Although the game was close early – Central Michigan led 2-1 within the first five minutes – the ‘Cats used a massive, 15-1 scoring run to pull away and win 22-7. Jill Girardi and Brennan Dwyer split duties in the circle and dominated, as Northwestern paced Central Michigan in draw controls 22-9.  Eleven Wildcats contributed to the score sheet, with nine players scoring multiple goals.

Next, The ‘Cats battled No. 21 Michigan, who defeated Notre Dame on Friday, in the second round and took care of business. Attacker Lauren Gilbert put Northwestern up 1-0 just 13 seconds into the contest and the Wildcats never looked back. Though Michigan clawed out of an early 5-0 hole to narrow the deficit to just one midway through the third quarter, Northwestern responded with goals from Elle Hansen, Leah Holmes and Dylan Amonte to make it a four-goal lead with 3:51 remaining in the third. Despite losing star defender Ally Palermo to two yellow cards, Northwestern’s back line stood firm in the game’s final minutes, headlined by goalie Madison Doucette who had 12 saves. In the end, the ‘Cats held on and defeated the Wolverines 15-12 behind four goals from Gilbert and 11 draw controls from Girardi. 

Northwestern will face Syracuse, the fifth seed, in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 4 p.m. CST. Though the Orange knocked out the ‘Cats in last year’s Final Four, Northwestern got the better of them this year, defeating Syracuse 16-15 in overtime back in March. 

Softball

Results: Big Ten Tournament

• 5/12 Quarterfinals vs. Wisconsin: 5-2 win
• 5/13 Semifinals vs. Michigan 2-1 loss

After being crowned regular season Big Ten champions, the softball ‘Cats headed to East Lansing, Michigan seeking their first Big Ten Tournament title since 2008. The top-seeded Wildcats handled Wisconsin 5-2 in the quarterfinals on Thursday thanks to a complete-game effort from Danielle Williams. The senior scattered four hits across seven innings and struck out 12, making it her 11th game this year with double-digit strikeouts. Up 3-2 heading into the sixth, the Wildcat offense used RBI singles from Grace Nieto and Skyler Shelmyer, who had three hits on the day, to bury the Badgers. 

Unlike lacrosse, Northwestern softball did not fare as well against Michigan on Friday. The ‘Cats got a gift in the fifth inning when Ayana Lindsey scampered home on a wild pitch. Wolverines pitcher Annabelle Widra was attempting to intentionally walk Northwestern slugger Rachel Lewis but instead threw erratically, allowing Lindsey to score. Williams had a chance to close out the ballgame in the top of the seventh but surrendered a two-out, two-run home run to Taylor Bump, who walked it off for Michigan. 

The ‘Cats earned the ninth seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host Oakland at Sharon J. Drysdale Field on Friday afternoon. Notre Dame and McNeese are the other two teams in the Evanston Regional. 

Baseball: 

Results: home series vs. Purdue 

• 5/13 14-8 loss
• 5/14 11-1 win
• 5/15 7-2 loss

In a series that was pivotal for positioning in the Big Ten standings, Northwestern baseball lost two of three games to Purdue over the weekend. The ‘Cats pitching has been the team’s Achilles heel all season, and it has given up six or more runs in eight of the last nine games. The lone game during that stretch where the opposing team was held to less than six runs came on Saturday, when graduate student Michael Farinelli went the distance, allowing just one run. Northwestern was bolstered by two home runs from Anthony Calarco and shots from Jay Beshears and Tommy D’Alise. Ethan O’Donnell also broke the program record for most doubles in a single season on Saturday with a two-bagger in the fifth inning. 

The ‘Cats now sit in 10th place in the Big Ten standings at 8-13 and will most likely need some help from the teams ahead of them if they want to make it to the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska. Northwestern finishes the regular season this weekend with a three-game set against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.