To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.
Sure, it’s a cliche, but these words are rarely wrong in the world of sports. Thus far, beating the best has been somewhat of a struggle for Northwestern Softball. Despite the fact that the ‘Cats have lost only three of their 24 contests against teams below them in the conference standings, in their eight games against Michigan and Minnesota — the two teams in the Big Ten that sit ahead of them — the ‘Cats have emerged with only one victory.
So why is it that a team that has been utterly dominant against nearly the entire conference has struggled so mightily when faced against its fellow top-tier teams?