April 7, 2009

Northwestern's Minnesota Game Notes in PDF Format

EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 6 Northwestern reaches the halfway point of the conference schedule Wednesday, April 8, with a doubleheader at Minnesota, the first of two-straight NU mid-week doubleheaders to be televised live on the Big Ten Network.

The Wildcats and Golden Gophers square off at 2 p.m. CT Wednesday live in high definition on the BTN. NU then has the weekend off before taking on Iowa in another live Big Ten Network double-dip, this one scheduled for 2 p.m. CT April 15 at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.

Northwestern enters its series at Minnesota with a perfect 8-0 record in the Big Ten, leading second-place Ohio State (5-1), third-place Illinois (5-2) and fourth-place Michigan (4-2). Minnesota is part of a three-way tie for fifth at 3-3. NU and Penn State are the only two league schools to have played eight games to this point; the Wildcats hit their first "open date" in the league schedule this weekend.

Minnesota has played 41 games this year (earning a 20-21 record thus far) as opposed to Northwestern's 29 games. Golden Gophers' ace Brianna Hassett has pitched more than 200 innings already on the year, leading the nation in total strikeouts. NU is familiar with Hassett, defeating her twice in 2008 including a run-rule victory in the Big Ten Tournament.

Northwestern's own ace, reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Lauren Delaney (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias), has won her last 11 decisions to help the Wildcats to an 11-game winning streak, their longest since a 12-gamer in 2007. Delaney is 21-6 on the season, marking the second-straight year she has attained the 20-win mark. She has 221 strikeouts, her second season in a row with more than 200 Ks.

Northwestern has made the trip to Minneapolis in three of the last four seasons. In 2007, NU won a single rain-shortened contest, 7-1, one year after sweeping a doubleheader during which former Wildcat hurler Eileen Canney tied the NCAA single-game strikeout record with 28 in an 18-inning marathon. Canney actually joins NU in Minneapolis Wednesday as the color commentator on the Big Ten Network broadcast.

Junior Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week after batting .875 in four games last week with a .917 on-base percentage, a 2.125 slugging percentage, three home runs, a double, seven runs scores, six RBIs, three walks and a hit by pitch. She is the fifth different Wildcat to earn a conference weekly accolade this season.

Northwestern coaches Kate Drohan and Caryl Drohan earned the 300th win of their careers together in Evanston with a doubleheader sweep of Indiana April 4. The pair now are 300-126-1 since 2002, including a 204-68 mark since 2005, a 105-36 Big Ten record since 2002 and a 72-10 conference mark in the last five years.

Live Stats
Minnesota's own live stats application is available at gophersports.com while Gametracker still will be available for Wednesday's games at NUsports.com.

On Your Television
Wednesday's doubleheader at Minnesota will be broadcast live in high definition on the Big Ten Network, featuring Marney Gellner on play-by-play, two-time Northwestern All-American Eileen Canney on color commentary and Leslie Hill on sideline duties.

VOTE FOR TAMMY!
Senior Tammy Williams is one of 10 finalists for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Fan voting counts for 1/3 of the final tally, and fans can vote once per day until May 7. Visit www.seniorclassaward.com or text SB10 to 839863 on your mobile device.