Softball: Northwestern salvages one game in uphill battle at Clearwater Invitational

CLEARWATER, Fla. – A weekend that began with tempered optimism ended in frustration for Northwestern, as the Wildcats claimed only one victory in five tries at the Clearwater Invitational and limped out of Florida with more questions than answers.

After opening the year 3-1 in Tempe, Northwestern arrived on the Gulf Coast confident it could keep momentum rolling against a star-studded field. Instead, the Wildcats were outscored 27-14 across four losses, their lone highlight a Marina Mason masterpiece in a 3-0 Saturday shutout of Missouri.

The spiral started early Friday when freshman Hildie Dempsey, making her first collegiate start for UCF, kept NU off balance long enough for the Knights to strike for six first-inning runs. Sienna Humphreys’ three-run homer and Aubrey Evans’ two doubles buried Mason before she could escape the opening frame, and reliever Renae Cunningham could not fully stop the bleeding in what became a 6-4 defeat.

Twenty-four hours later Mason flipped the script, firing a two-hit shutout against the Tigers and carrying a no-hitter into the fifth. Emma Raye, who reached safely in all five tournament games, ignited the offense with a lead-off double and finished 2-for-3, while Kelsey Nader’s RBI single pushed her weekend average to a team-best .412. Grace Nieto chipped in two hits and finished the event batting .333.

Any momentum from the Missouri win evaporated in the afternoon cap against No. 17 Georgia. Riley Grudzielanek held the Bulldogs scoreless through three innings before a fourth-inning error opened the door for Sarah Gordon’s three-run blast and Kierstin Roose’s bases-clearing double in a six-run frame that carried Georgia to an 8-3 victory.

Sunday’s finale against No. 8 Texas A&M offered a brief glimpse of resilience. Trailing 5-0 after three, the Aggies plated seven of the game’s final eight runs—five coming in the fifth—stunning Northwestern 7-6. Kaylie Avvisato’s three-run homer in the third had staked NU to its largest lead of the weekend, but Micaela Wark’s lead-off fifth-inning homer and Mya Perez’s two-run single flipped the script. Signe Dohse, who did not allow an earned run in 8.1 innings across four appearances, took the hard-luck loss after the late collapse.

At the plate Northwestern hit .257 as a team and slugged .348, with Raye pacing the squad at .640. In the circle the Wildcats posted a 3.85 ERA, stranding 28 runners but yielding seven home runs. Third-base defense proved especially costly; Tru Medina’s four errors in five games directly led to five unearned runs.

The Wildcats now head to Fayetteville for five games this weekend, opening against Southeast Missouri State on Friday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. CT before three meetings with No. 11 Arkansas.