Northwestern baseball’s wild win in nightcap secures doubleheader split with Cincinnati
Northwestern dropped the first game of a doubleheader 5-4 to Cincinnati and was in danger of being swept, squandering a five-run lead late in Game 2.
But a two-run ninth inning and clutch pitching from David Utagawa gave the 'Cats a 10-8 win and salvaged a split on Friday. Northwestern and Cincinnati will finish the four-games series with two games on Saturday at UC Baseball Stadium.
Game 1 Recap
Late rally comes up short in 5-4 defeat
Northwestern’s Mike Doherty and Cincinnati’s Tristan Weaver faced off in the first game of the doubleheader, a seven-inning contest, and both pitchers put up a zero in the first inning.
Cincinnati broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the second inning, plating two runs on two hits. Griffin Merritt struck out to lead off the frame but reached on a wild pitch. Merritt stole second and scored on a Dondrae Bremner RBI single. Later in the inning, Cole Harting came home on a passed ball to give the Bearcats a 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats responded immediately, knotting the game at 2 in the third inning. J.C. Santini started the inning by drawing a walk, and Andrew Pinkston advanced Santini on a sacrifice bunt. Stephen Hrustich followed with a single, and after a strikeout, Jay Beshears ripped a double down the left field line. Santini and Hrustich scored on the play to tie the game.
Doherty retired six of the next seven Bearcats he faced, firing two scoreless innings in the third and fourth. The ‘Cats then took the lead in the top of the fifth. Pinkston reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to second on a Hrustich groundout. Anthony Calarco tallied his team-leading ninth RBI of the year on a base hit to center field, scoring Pinkston.
In the bottom half of the fifth, Doherty struggled against the Bearcats’ lineup in the third cycle through the order. Doherty sent down the leadoff man Harting to begin the inning, but JP Sponseller launched his first home run of the season to tie the game 3-3. Ryan Nicholson added a solo home run with two outs for the Bearcats, and back-to-back doubles chased Doherty from the game with Northwestern trailing 5-3. Coby Moe relived Doherty and pitched 1.1 innings without allowing a baserunner.
Northwestern rallied in the seventh, sparked by a bunt single from backstop Bennett Markinson and a double from Hrustich. Calarco’s sacrifice fly cut the deficit in half, scoring Pinkston and advancing Hrustich to third base. With the tying run 90 feet away, Weaver struck out Beshears to end the game.
Calarco and Beshears both knocked in two runs in the loss, and Hrustich snapped a 1-21 funk with two hits in four at bats. Doherty allowed four earned runs in 4.2 innings, taking his second loss of the year.
Weaver went the distance for Cincinnati, striking out six Wildcats and boosting his record to 2-1.
Game 2 Recap
Wildcats plate two in the ninth, hang on for 10-8 victory
UC carried the momentum from Game 1 into the first inning of Game 2. Bearcat right-hander Zach Segal struck out the side in order in the top half of the inning, and Cincinnati tagged Northwestern starter Sean Sullivan with three runs on three hits in the bottom half.
The ‘Cats fought back in the third inning with three straight hits against Segal. Patrick Herrera doubled with one out, and Hrustich’s single gave Northwestern its first run. Calarco put the Wildcats within a run with a booming double that short-hopped the wall, scoring Hrustich from first. Segal then wiggled out of the jam and UC kept a 3-2 advantage.
Sullivan settled down after a shaky first inning, keeping the Bearcats off the scoreboard for the rest of his outing. The first-year southpaw finished the fifth inning by fanning Kerrington Cross for his seventh punchout.
The bats came through for Sullivan in the sixth, as Northwestern sent ten hitters to the plate and rallied for six runs. A walk and a single preceded a Bearcats’ pitching change, and the Wildcats took advantage against Cincinnati reliever Evan Kemp. After tying the game on a Bearcat fielding miscue, Tony Livermore smashed a two-run double, and Herrera dropped down a successful squeeze bunt to record an RBI. Hrustich continued his success at the plate in the doubleheader with a two-run blast over the left-field wall, giving the ‘Cats an 8-3 lead.
Josh Reynolds sent Jack Dyke to the hill in the bottom of the sixth to relieve Sullivan, and Dyke turned in two solid innings with three strikeouts. Dyke got into trouble in the eighth inning, however, surrendering a solo homer and loading the bases without recording an out.
Reed Smith entered for Northwestern on the mound, striking out Sponseller but walking in two runs. David Utagawa, the third Wildcat to pitch in the frame, induced a potential inning-ending grounder, but an error by Livermore caused two Bearcats runs to score, tying the game 8-8.
Northwestern's offense punched back in the top of the ninth, blitzing Cincinnati reliever Max Bergmann with three consecutive hits. Markinson delivered the knockout blow, as his two-run single to left field gave the Wildcats a 10-8 edge that they wouldn't relinquish.
Utagawa finished the game with a perfect ninth inning, earning his first win in his collegiate career. The righty struck out two and did not allow a hit in 1.2 innings.
Markinson singled three times and Calarco hit a trio of doubles in the win, snapping a three-game losing streak for Northwestern.
Up Next
The Wildcats (2-8) and Bearcats (4-4) play another twin bill Saturday, starting with a seven-inning game at 12 p.m. CT. A nine-inning affair in the second game of the doubleheader will close the series. Both games will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
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