By Ari Levin Baseball is famous for sabermetrics – advanced calculations that combine statistics and use multiple parts of the box score to analyze the value of players. They’re far more common in MLB than in college baseball, both because of the availability of data and because of the closed circle of competition between teams and aren’t mainstream in softball.
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By Ari Levin The 2019 college softball season was the year of the dominant freshman pitcher. Shealyn O’Leary of Texas allowed nine earned runs all year, only three in Big 12 play. Her ERA led all qualified pitchers. UCLA’s Megan Faraimo stepped in alongside the national player of the year and contributed enough to win 16 games and hold opponents
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By Ari Levin There’s a phenomenon I’ve noticed in my time at Northwestern that I believe is fairly unique to student sports media. Following a Northwestern sports team, we learn a lot of about student-athletes, and far more than they know about us. When we watch their incredible feats on the field, cheer for them, and write about them, it’s
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By Ari Levin Northwestern softball faces its toughest test of the year and perhaps in more than a decade this weekend as they take on No. 1 Oklahoma (52-3) in the super regionals. The Wildcats need to take two of three games to advance. Here’s what you need to know about Oklahoma before this weekend’s series. They’re really, really good
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By Ari Levin February 16, 2018: Kaley Winegarner was one out away from extra innings and giving Northwestern softball a chance at an upset win over Louisville in the season’s second weekend. It was 58 degrees in Raleigh, N.C., site of the 2018 ACC-Big Ten Challenge, a drop from 80 degrees at the beginning of the Friday doubleheader. The junior
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By Ari Levin When Nikki Cuchran came to the plate with the bases loaded in a tie game in the fifth inning, all she was thinking was “pass the bat.” Pitcher Danielle Watson was feeling the effects of a blister. So, when she left a pitch a little over the plate with not quite enough spin, Cuchran took advantage. A
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By Ari Levin After 11 hours of softball, the Wildcats stay alive for another day. Northwestern (45-11) rebounded from an early 2-1 loss against Louisville (35-21) to stave off elimination with an 8-1 win over Southern Illinois (34-15). Now, in order to advance to the Super Regionals, they must defeat Louisville twice on Sunday. “We just wanted to fight hard, get another chance to
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By Ari Levin Coming off a disappointing conclusion to the regular season against Minnesota and the end of a 20-game win streak, the Northwestern Wildcats softball team begins postseason play. Still nationally ranked, Northwestern heads to the Big Ten Tournament looking to improve their national standing. There’s a strong chance that Northwestern needs to win the tournament, or at least
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By Ari Levin Just a first year, Skyler Shellmyer is already an emotional team leader for Northwestern softball. “Lightning in a bottle at all times,” is how assistant coach Caryl Drohan described the energetic center fielder and leader of dugout cheers. Shellmyer was ranked as the No. 25 recruit nationally, according to her Northwestern bio, based on her combination of
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By Ari Levin The theme for Northwestern lacrosse this season has been an inability to beat the nation’s elite teams. This year, the Wildcats have had four chances against top-six teams. They’re now 0-4 in those games. They’re 9-0 against everyone else. On Thursday, the fifth-ranked Wildcats dropped another top opportunity against No. 2 Maryland by a score of 17-13.
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By Ari Levin Well, here it is. The last Big Ten Women’s Basketball Power Rankings of the year. This is the last power rankings article I will write for WNUR Sports. It has been an amazing experience breaking down the entire conference all season long. First off, a huge thanks to HerHoopStats. They do absolutely incredible work. This column would
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By Ari Levin Northwestern is a national runner-up. I’ve thought to myself at times how cool it would be for Northwestern to win a national championship in my time here. In any sport. Olivia Rosendahl did that. And she’s amazing. Two years ago, Northwestern women’s golf lost in the match play championships and finished as the national runner-up. And I’m
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