14 innings. 208 pitches.
Two hits allowed. 14 strikeouts.
One earned run.
That was Marina Mason’s workload over this past weekend. Pure dominance.
The first-year, who’s shown flashes of greatness throughout NU’s non-conference slate, has finally made her arrival to Big Ten softball.
Mason spearheaded a Northwestern (15-14, 3-3 B1G) series sweep of the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-23, 0-6 B1G) this past weekend — a series that displayed the absolute best of the ‘Cats roster. To support its great pitching,
NU’s lineup strung together 30 hits over the weekend, half of which went for extra-base hits. Emma Raye flashed her power with eight RBIs through the first two games, while Grace Nieto logged four hits to extend her hitting streak to five games.
In short, Northwestern softball is starting to look like itself again: a powerhouse program built on a storied history, destined to cause havoc in one of the toughest conferences in the nation.
Game 1: Northwestern 6, Illinois 1
NU came out swinging on Friday, notching three hits off Illinois starter Karley Yergler in her first two innings of work. But the ‘Cats would be held scoreless until the third, when Kaylie Avvisato’s base hit set the table for Kansas Robinson to score her with a single of her own. Bridget Donahey roped a double in Northwestern’s next at-bat, scoring Robinson to give the ‘Cats a 2-0 advantage.
Raye accounted for NU’s next two scores with a two-run home run in the fifth followed by an RBI groundout in the sixth, making it 5-0 Northwestern.
The fifth-inning bomb was Raye’s eighth hit in six games.
In the final frame, Northwestern loaded the bases with two outs via a single, a walk and an error from Illini third baseman Adisyn Caryl. Grace Nieto worked a five-pitch walk to capitalize on the ‘Cats opportunity in the seventh.
Meanwhile, Mason was heading to the bottom of the seventh with an opportunity to become the first Northwestern first-year in 15 years to toss a no-hitter. With the weight on her shoulders, she induced a grounder from Caryl, Illinois’ best hitter with a team-leading .363 average, for the first of the final three outs.
Then, Eileen Donahue stood in the box and on a 2-2 pitch, she poked the ball down the right field line and into the outfield to end Mason’s bid on history.
For the time being.
She bounced back immediately with a strikeout, but down to their final out, the Illini were able to push across their first and only run of the contest with a double off the bat of Jackie Yeager, scoring Donahue from first.
However, that would be the end of the line for the Illini on Friday. Delaney Mosley went down swinging to end it, giving Mason her fifth complete game of the season.
Game 2: Northwestern 19, Illinois 5 (5 inn.)
To say the first inning of this game was explosive is an understatement. There were 16 total runs in the first inning, 12 of which belonged to Northwestern. The ‘Cats sent 16 batters to hit in the top of the first to post their highest single-inning run total since April 23, 2023 against Nebraska.
The Northwestern melee started with back-to-back jacks from Robinson and Donahey, both disappearing over the center field wall.
Robinson drilled her sixth bomb of the season in the first, good for second on the team. Donahey, who had just rocked her fifth, would join her senior counterpart later in the afternoon, as she found her sixth in the third inning.
Following the pair of bombs, Kelsey Nader found herself on base after battling back from an 0-2 count to earn a seven-pitch walk and Avery Garden smacked a single to move Nader into scoring position. A wild pitch and a throwing error brought Nader around to the plate, making it 5-0.
Four Northwestern doubles accounted for the next seven runs. Tru Medina connected for the first two-bagger of the inning, then Nieto followed suit. Raye came through with the third and Nader provided the fourth for the ‘Cats with two outs.
Before the Illini touched their bats, they found themselves in an unimaginable trench that seemed to yield no sliver of hope. Illinois would have to make its own and it seemed to do so with two of its own homers that seemed to have Riley Grudzielanek flustered.
That proved to be far from the truth. The Illini could only muster one more run on two hits off the Northwestern junior.
On the flip side, Illinois pitchers were in panic mode trying to contain a Wildcat barrage in Champaign. Illini head coach Tyra Perry turned to four different arms in the span of two innings to do so, but to no avail. Every single arm used by Illinois surrendered at least three runs.
And three runs is what NU found in the second inning, thanks to a towering home run from Raye. The three-run shot gave her five RBIs on the day, tying her career high that was set 373 days earlier.
The aforementioned homer from Donahey and a three-run double from Abby Harvey in the fourth were the tail end of a purple thunderstorm that rolled through Eichelberger Field on Saturday afternoon, as NU secured the series win with a statement W.
Game 3: Northwestern 5, Illinois 0
The ‘Cats offensive excellence continued through game three of the series and gave NU the advantage in the second inning. Izzy Cunnea went to battle at the plate with a runner on first, grinding out a 16-pitch at-bat and crushing a double to drive in Nader for the first run of the ballgame.
In the third, Nieto kickstarted NU’s biggest rally with a solo homer on the second pitch of the frame.
Avvisato kept it going with another double, followed by some classic small ball from the ‘Cats. Raye’s intimidating presence was enough to force a four-pitch walk and Donahey used her speed to leg out a bunt single.
That set the table for Garden to drill a bases-clearing extra-base hit to put the Wildcats up five.
The story from there was all about Mason — a woman on a mission, as she had history snatched from beneath her just two days before the series finale. She’d escape some turbulence in the bottom of the third, stranding two Illinois baserunners and looking as though she wouldn’t let history repeat itself.
The fourth and fifth were both 1-2-3 innings for the freshman, and she ended the sixth quickly after walking two batters. All eyes turned to the seventh with three outs separating Mason from Northwestern immortality.
In a poetic twist of fate, she started the seventh inning of Sunday’s contest the same way she began the seventh on Friday: with a groundout. The difference between the two days was that there was no Eileen Donahue to rain on her parade. Instead, Yeager stepped to the plate and was sent down, watching strike three clip the plate.
One out away. Only Ella Cushing stood in her way and on a 1-0 count, she got her to roll over to third. Nader gloved the grounder and made the play to finish the storybook ending.
The ‘Cats will host their Big Ten home opener in The Ballpark at Rosemont, as they welcome No. 18 Oregon on Thursday for the first game of a three-game series. Northwestern will be seeking its first ranked win since May 4, 2025.
