It was quite the weekend for Northwestern sports, particularly the NU women. We'll run through everything — including our weekly softball coverage — here.
Softball
After sweeping Penn State in State College the previous weekend, Northwestern swept Purdue to improve to 28-18 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats used a combination of timely offense and solid pitching to take down the Boilermakers as the regular season starts to wrap up.
Game 1: Northwestern 6, Purdue 4
InsideNU Player of the Game: Kristin Scharkey
Doug Meffley Weather Report: Simply, stunningly delightful
Box score
Northwestern couldn't get much offense going most of the game, and the Wildcats headed into the bottom of the sixth down 4-2 to the Boilermakers before really getting the bats going. NU scored four runs that inning and Kristin Scharkey was the one to ultimately put the Wildcats ahead for good with a two-RBI single.
Game 2: Northwestern 4, Purdue 1
InsideNU Player of the Game: Meghan Lamberth
Doug Meffley Weather Report: Skies blue, flags purp and white
Box score
Northwestern got 9 hits in this one, but left 8 runners on base, so it wasn't the best display of timely offense. However, the Wildcats didn't end up needing much offense at all. NU's biggest offensive "explosion" came in the third inning, as the Wildcats got Purdue pitcher Lexy Moore into a jam, then continued to hit well against her reliever, Lilly Fechco. NU pitcher Meghan Lamberth allowed 8 hits, but just one run — it came in the last inning — and no walks, improving her record to 9-5 on the season.
Game 3: Northwestern 6, Purdue 2
InsideNU Player of the Game: Amy Letourneau
Doug Meffley Weather Report: Seniors overshadow the day!
Box score
This game started like the first one in the series, as Purdue took an early 2-1 lead. However, NU exploded for five runs in the fifth with the help of Letourneau, Brianna LeBeau, Meghan Lamberth, Mari Majam and Marisa Bast. Letourneau gets our player of the game for this one, as she drove in two runs and held Purdue to just two in her second win of the series.
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Women's Golf
It was a big weekend for Northwestern women's golf, which captured its first ever Big Ten Championship this past weekend. The Wildcats split the championship with Purdue, but it's still a sweet victory for a team that didn't win a Big Ten Championship in its previous 31 seasons. You can read more about the win here.
A day later, NU found out its postseason fate: The Wildcats will be seeded tenth in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament, which will be played in Auburn, Ala. This is NU's 11th NCAA appearance.
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Women's Tennis
While the women's golf team was wrapping up its first Big Ten Championship, the NU women's tennis team was also busy winning the Big Ten... for the 15th time in a row. Last year, NU won the regular season title, but failed to win the Big Ten Tournament after a 13-year streak. This year, the Wildcats were back on top of the conference tournament. NU defeated Michigan 4-1 in this year's final and will learn its NCAA Tournament fate today.