Softball set for first road doubleheaders

Northwest softball earned its 20th win of the season in their doubleheader with No. 15 Washburn April 1 at Bearcat Softball Field — the programs first 20-win season since 2018. Now, the Bearcats look ahead to Northeastern State April 7 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and Rogers State April 8 in Claremore, Oklahoma.

The Bearcats split their home doubleheader against Washburn. In game No. 1, the ’Cats capped off a win against the Ichabods 5-1, in large part due to senior catcher Madison Friest’s grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning. Friest’s shot over the center field fence not only secured her sixth home run of the season, but it also gave her team its 20th win.

Coach Naomi Tellez said this team is due for something big, heading into the final stretch of the spring season.

“That’s just a small measure of where and how far this team has come,” Tellez said. “We keep building on what we did last year, and there’s obviously still more to come. That just shows even the small changes that we’ve done, we’ve been able to get that many wins with so much of the season left to go.”

Northwest (20-16, 5-7 MIAA) split both of its home conference doubleheaders against Emporia State (19-15, 3-7 MIAA) and No. 15 Washburn (297, 8-4 MIAA) March 31 and April 1 in its last four contests.

The ’Cats will face off against Northeastern (20-15, 2-8 MIAA) in a doubleheader at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. April 7. The Bearcats will matchup against the defending Division II national champions Rogers (27-6, 6-4 MIAA) in another doubleheader at noon and 2 p.m. April 8.

Senior infielder Olivia Daugherty said the plan is to stay consistent throughout both games in the doubleheaders at Oklahoma.

“This past weekend, we split with our teams, and we’ll have, you know, a really good game and we’ll compete, and the next game will be a little different,” Daugherty said. “When we do win the first game, to

Up Next

NW vs. Northeastern State

4 p.m. and 6 p.m. April 7

Tahlequah, Oklahoma

NW vs. Rogers State

12 p.m. and 2 p.m. April 8

Claremore, Oklahoma

NW vs. Truman State

1 p.m. and 3 p.m. April 12

Bearcat Softball Field take it into the next, and know that we can keep up with these teams.”

Daugherty is in the top-five in multiple categories in the MIAA’s individual hitting statistics. She is tied for first in RBIs (41), No. 2 in home runs (11), No. 3 in hits (50), No. 4 in slugging percentage (.788) and No. 6 in batting average (.424). Daugherty is having her best season as a Bearcat, as all of those statistics mark her career-highs in her five-year tenure at Northwest.

As Northwest looks ahead to the second day in Oklahoma against Rogers, the Bearcats have matched up against the Hillcats five times in the programs’ history and have yet to secure a win.

Daugherty said playing against tough conference opponents this past weekend — Washburn and Emporia — will prepare them for the program’s potential first win against Rogers.

“Just taking that into this weekend, knowing that we can do it,” Daugherty said. “Some nice weather will help, so just knowing that we can do it and compete is gonna help.”

With 16 games remaining on the schedule for Northwest’s regular season, only six of its matchups will be at home — the final four games will be at Bearcat Softball Field April 28-29. Tellez said it is about staying persistent with the grind this month, before the MIAA Tournament starts up May 3.

“It’s hard to win on the road,” Tellez said. “Our conference, you know, there’s a lot of shifting going on right now, so just being able to at least take one, if not two on the road, is going to be huge for us.”