Welcome back to the Friendly Confines Ohio State!
Wrigley Field rolled out the welcome mat for Northwestern’s annual ‘Cats Classic on Friday evening. But as the ‘Cats (22-24, 11-14 B1G) enjoyed an uncontested win, the Buckeyes (11-34, 3-22) found the Friendly Confines to be anything but friendly, losing 12-2 in seven innings after a run rule.
With green ivy and blue skies overhead, a crowd dressed in purple and red set the scene for the opening game of Northwestern’s final home series. NU graduate student Sam Hilbolki started on the mound while Ohio State countered with sophomore Drew Erdmann.
After a leadoff strikeout, three straight walks issued by Northwestern loaded the bases with Buckeyes. With the possibility of striking first, Ohio State could not produce, and back-to-back strikeouts left three stranded as Northwestern geared up to hit.
A leadoff walk from senior Preston Knott gave the ‘Cats a runner, but the possibility of scoring early was quickly squandered for them, too. A strikeout and flyout, followed by Knott caught stealing second, closed a scoreless first inning.
In the second, a quick three up, three down catapulted Northwestern into an exciting half-inning. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with no outs for graduate student Jacob Hand. Opening the gates for the Wildcats, Hand hammered a 3-1 pitch to right-center and cleared the bases as he earned himself a double. An error by third baseman Will Carpenter put another Wildcat on base, but not for long. Both runners crossed home after a two RBI double by Knott. Immediately after, junior Owen McElfatrick earned his own base-clearing double and extended the ‘Cats lead to 6-0.
Now far behind, the Buckeyes turned to redshirt sophomore Sahil Patel to close the inning. A groundout and strikeout from Northwestern — following an earlier pop out — ended the inning, but the damage was irreversible.
Two Buckeyes came to the plate, but both were retired to their dugout as Northwestern’s lead loomed large. It wasn’t until senior Tyler Pettorini came up that Ohio State recorded their first hit of the game although he was swiftly stranded after a fly out to left.
Northwestern started the inning similarly, with two back-to-back outs of its own. Yet, unlike their Ohio rival, a two out rally headed by junior Trent Liolios’ single put an extra run on the board for the ‘Cats.
Heading into the fifth the score was still 7-0, thanks to a quiet fourth inning for both teams.
A leadoff single by freshman Sal Mineo, followed by an error by McElfatrick gave the Buckeyes two baserunners and a chance to score. And with the next at-bat, senior Trey Lipsey did just that — his grounder down the right side put the first run on the board for Ohio State. With no outs, and runners still in scoring position, a sac-fly to center earned the Buckeyes their second run and the ‘Cats their first out. The following two outs came shortly after, falling into the gloves of junior center fielder Jack Lausch and sophomore right fielder Jackson Freeman. Riding their momentum, Ohio State earned its first three up, three down inning to keep the score 7-2.
However, this Buckeyes’ strength didn’t last for long as Northwestern rallied in the bottom of the sixth. With bases loaded and one out, a walk by Lausch followed by a wild pitch on the next at-bat had the ‘Cats up two more runs. After this damage, another pitching change for the Buckeyes ensued — this time freshman Tannis Lange took the rubber. But before Lange could retire the side, Northwestern snuck in a final run from a hand sac-fly to make the score 10-2.
Approaching run rule territory, the ‘Cats kept Ohio State scoreless through the top of the seventh. Heading into the bottom, two singles by Knott and McElfatrick put the game-closing run on first. With two outs, and sophomore Ryan Kucherak up to bat, Northwestern was on its feet. After two pitches, Kucherak yanked one up the middle and scored two RBIs for the walk-off win, the ‘Cats on top 12-2.
Northwestern will host Ohio State for the remaining two games of the series at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park on Saturday and Sunday.