Northwestern punches ticket to College Softball World Series with thrilling win over Arizona State

Northwestern is heading to Oklahoma City with a chance to win a national championship.

Sunday night, the Wildcats overcame a 5-0 deficit in Tempe to defeat Arizona State 8-6 in Game 3 of the NCAA Super Regionals. Jordyn Rudd was the star of Sunday’s contest, getting 4 hits on 5 at bats and knocking in 3 runs in the Wildcats’ victory.

It was a slow start for Northwestern, he surrendered 1 run in the opening inning then 4 more in the bottom of the 3rd, allowing Arizona State to jump out to an early 5-0 advantage. The Cats didn’t need much time to crawl back into the game.

Northwestern put up some big numbers in the 4th, scoring 4 runs. Lauren Caldrone grounded into a fielder’s choice but a throwing error from Arizona State allowed Angela Zedak and Rachel Lewis to cross home plate for the team’s first runs of the game.

Rudd stepped up to the plate and a single to left field scored Ayana Lindsey and Skyler Shellmyer to cut the Sun Devils’ lead to 1 run at the end of the inning.

In the 5th, Hannah Cady tied the game with a solo home run to right field. The Wildcats would take their first lead on a Maeve Nelson single to the outfield, which scored Rudd to make the score 6-5. Northwestern never looked back.

A Super Regional for the ages 🎥🥎

Highlights from the winner-take-all finale in Tempe!#GoCats | #BeRemarkable pic.twitter.com/fP1iyB0qWj

— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) May 30, 2022

Danielle Williams pitched all 7 innings for the Wildcats, giving up 6 hits and 6 runs but striking out 7 batters.

After claiming the series over Arizona State, Northwestern heads to Oklahoma City for the College Softball World Series. As the No. 9 seed, Northwestern will play top-seeded Oklahoma on Thursday, June 2.

The first pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on ESPN.