Baseball: Northwestern struggles, but flips the script to end the weekend

Turning the tables, you could say.

There’s an old saying that goes, “It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish.” And Northwestern baseball took that motto to heart; after a tough beginning of the series, the ‘Cats turned it around and ultimately went home happy Sunday afternoon.

Northwestern (18-20, 8-10 B1G) followed up an electric walkoff win against crosstown rival UIC with a three-game series against one of the newest Big Ten foes in Washington (22-20, 11-7 B1G). Playing each other for the first time in over 20 years, the Wildcats lost the first two games in the series by mercy rule — 19-4 and 14-4 back-to-back — but rebounded with a 10-4 victory to end the weekend.

Heading into Friday afternoon, head coach Ben Greenspan gave the southpaw Blake MacMillan the start in hopes he could get NU off to a solid start in the series. But the Huskies came into Evanston and got off to an electric start, raking in four runs in the top of the first and another in the second to get out to a 5-0 lead.

On the other end, UW starter Max Banks was wheeling and dealing, holding Northwestern scoreless through the first three innings. After Jackson Hotchkiss’ single up the middle put Washington up 7-0 through three-and-a-half innings, Northwestern was searching for any response it could with its back against the wall. That’s when Ryan Kucherak came in.

The sophomore LSU transfer mashed one to finally get NU on the board in the bottom of the fourth, giving the ‘Cats some momentum when they desperately needed it. But just when things were looking up, an eight-run fifth inning response from the Huskies ended any comeback bid the ‘Cats were looking for.

A massive 4-for-4, two RBI day from slugger AJ Guerrero fueled what turned out to be a 19-4 whooping for the Huskies, and left Greenspan and NU with a very sour taste in their mouths heading into Game Two.

Looking to get some revenge, Northwestern started Sam Hliboki, with the pitcher searching for his third win of the year. Washington’s bats started right back from where they left off on Friday, though, scoring two through the first two innings.

Northwestern responded back in the bottom of the second with a Bennett Markinson fielder’s choice that scored Trent Liolios, but the Huskies’ relentless offensive attack would be the death of Northwestern on Saturday, too.

UW would score seven runs over the next two innings to jump out to a 9-1 lead, and then a Hotchkiss grand slam in the sixth completely blew the game open, eventually leading to yet another mercy-rule W after just seven innings on the way to a 14-4 victory. The only silver lining from another tough day was a Jack Lausch smash in the bottom of the fourth, his first ever at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park.

With the series already lost and Northwestern having nothing to lose, the ‘Cats came into the third and final game ready to fight. With first-year left-hander Christian Forniss on the bump for NU, Greenspan hoped to jumpstart the pitching staff with a newer face.

And his decision paid off, indeed: Forniss was nearly perfect through three innings, giving up just one hit and two walks without allowing a run.

On the flip side, Northwestern was finally able to get going at the plate, scoring a pair of runs in the first two innings before another Kucherak bomb scored Jackson Freeman and put the ‘Cats up 4-0 and in prime position to at least get a win out of the series.

But after four scoreless innings, Washington finally got on the board in the fifth with a Guerrero two-run single that broke the seal. Things became even more tense when relief pitcher Matthew Kouser gave up a third run in the sixth, cutting the lead to just one.

With Washington clawing at the door, Northwestern bounced back in a huge way, as Lausch came through by knocking in a single right through the infield shift to drive in a run, before a five-run seventh inning put things all but out of commission.

After Tyler Ganus clubbed a two-run single to cap off a big seventh inning, Northwestern would remain in cruise control for the rest of the afternoon. Despite a late Guerrero homer, Crawford Wade closed it out with ease for the ‘Cats, giving up just one run and four hits through three and two-thirds. Northwestern would ultimately get the win by a score of 10-4.

The Wildcats (19-22, 9-12 B1G) welcome in Butler on Tuesday before starting a three-game series against Big Ten rival Purdue from Friday to Sunday.