It is now so commonplace for Northwestern to battle back from late-inning deficits that it’s almost become a comfort zone for the veteran squad. Sunday, in the deciding game at the Tempe Super Regionals, the Rally ‘Cats did it again and punched their ticket to the Women’s College World Series, which starts Thursday in Oklahoma City.

That the ‘Cats trailed 5-0 in the 4th inning to Arizona State, the No. 8 ranked team in the county, on their home field, seemed to be of little concern to a team that had rallied in similar situations all year long.

Comebacks started early in the season

It began way back in February, at the St. Pete-Clearwater Elite Softball Tournament in Clearwater, Florida, where some of the nation’s top teams meet in a yearly preview of games. That’s where the ‘Cats trailed 2-0 in the 5th inning to then-No. 3 UCLA, a team that will join Northwestern in the upcoming 8-team double elimination WCWS.

The ‘Cats rallied to tie the game and send it into extra innings only to have the Bruins take a 4-2 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the 8th inning.

No problem, senior Maeve Nelson clobbered a grand slam home run for a walk-off 6-4 win over UCLA All-Pac 12 and NFCA All-American first-team pitcher Megan Faraimo, the author of 4 perfect games coming into the season.

It set the tone for the 2022 campaign and displayed the character and the fight in this senior-driven Northwestern team.

Lewis, Williams lead the way

The catalyst throughout has been right fielder Rachel Lewis. The graduate student led the B1G in homers (22), slugging percentage (.828), runs scored (66), RBIs (61) and walks (42), and was 3rd in stolen bases (26). But it is definitely a team effort that has the ‘Cats playing in their 6th WCWS and looking for a first national title.

Seniors Jordyn Rudd, who led the team in hitting (.375), tied for the league lead with 6 sacrifice flies, and was 2nd in the conference in RBIs (52), along with Skyler Shellmyer, 2nd in the conference in runs scored (58), and tied for 2nd in hits (69), are also among the leaders on this potent offense.

In the circle, senior pitcher Danielle Williams has been nothing short of sensational, keeping the ‘Cats in every game. The workhorse went 31-4 with a 1.86 ERA and saved another 11, most in the conference. She led the league in strikeouts (323) and innings pitched (241), and she tossed a no-hitter against Stanford in March.

Trailing 5-0 and facing elimination

On Sunday, facing what seemed to be certain elimination, the ‘Cats did what they do best, rallying for 4 runs in the 5th inning and another in the 6th to tie the game, 5-5. They caught the Sun Devils and left them in their dust, adding a go-ahead run in the 6th and 2 more insurance markers in the 7th for an 8-6 win.

It was the second time in the best-of-3 series that Northwestern snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. In the series opener, they found themselves in a 3-0 hole in the 6th inning. But home runs from Lewis and sophomore Hannah Cady tied the game at 3 and sent it into extra innings where NW prevailed 4-3 in 11 innings.

That seems to be the theme for the 2022 season. There was the 3-1 deficit to San Diego State in which the ‘Cats needed a run in the 7th to send it to extra innings before walking it off with a run in the 9th.

A similar situation arose against Michigan, trailing 3-1 in the 6th inning before tying it with 2 runs in the 6th and then walking it off with a run in the 9th. The very next game, against the Wolverines, NW scored 4 runs in the 6th inning to erase a 4-2 deficit and win, 6-4.

At Ohio State, the ‘Cats were down 4-1 before tallying 6 runs in the 4th inning and went on to hold off the Buckeyes, 9-8.

No lead too big to overcome

No lead is safe against this team, not the way they hit. Northwestern tied for the B1G lead in home runs (76) and paced the conference with 332 RBIs. The ‘Cats were 2nd in the league in team batting average (.304) and slugging percentage (.509).

They were difficult to retire but nearly impossible to double up. The ‘Cats grounded into only 2 double plays, the fewest in the league.

So, NW (43-11) takes this show on the road to Oklahoma City, where they open the WCWS at 2:30 p.m. ET Thursday against Oklahoma (54-2), the nation’s top-ranked team. Most believe that it’s a foregone conclusion that the Sooners will run away with this tournament. But their 2 losses are against teams also in the WCWS (Texas and Oklahoma State). So stay tuned.

Taking down Goliath will be a tall task, but these Rally ‘Cats certainly won’t give in.