Five things to know: Northwestern

Wisconsin

30-5, 7-2

Northwestern

29-7, 9-0

Game Coverage

April 12-14 | Drysdale Field | Evanston, Ill.

MADISON, Wis. – After sweeping the Hawkeyes at home last weekend, the No. 25 Wisconsin softball team will head to Evanston, Illinois, for conference games against Northwestern. The series kicks off Friday at 4 p.m., continues Saturday with a 1 p.m. game and will conclude Sunday at noon.

1. HIP HIP, TJ!: Taylor Johnson did it all for the Badgers last weekend. The sophomore tallied a hit in each contest to extend her hitting streak to 19 games. She also tallied her first career grand slam on Saturday, leading UW to its second-straight run-rule win over Iowa. Johnson was also active on the base path, scoring two of her three runs this weekend after tagging up on sacrifice flies all the way from second base. On defense, the catcher held Iowa to 0-2 for stolen base attempts.

2. DOUBLE TROUBLE: Pitchers Haley Hestekin and Kaitlyn Menz teamed up to terminate Iowa last weekend. The duo collectively struck out 19 batters with three walks and three runs allowed. Hestkein recorded a career-high nine strikeouts while pitching a complete game on Saturday. On the season the Wisconsin pitchers have a 1.47 ERA which ranks fourth in the nation.

3. BEST OF THE BEST: Junior Kayla Konwent had yet another standout weekend for Wisconsin and now ranks second nationally with a batting average of .505. Against the Hawkeyes Konwent was five-for-seven (.714) with three runs and two RBI. The first baseman also drew four walks.

4. THIRTY WINS: Sunday's 4-2 win over Iowa marked UW's 30th win of the season. The 2019 squad became the fastest team in school history to record a 30-win season.

5. SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN: The Wildcats are a perfect 9-0 in conference play and hold a 29-7 season record. They have two non-conference games scheduled for this week against Notre Dame and University of Illinois-Chicago before playing the Badgers this weekend. Freshman Jordyn Rudd is one of Northwestern's biggest offensive threats. The catcher has 37 hits, 33 RBI and three home runs on the season.