Series Preview: Northwestern Baseball Takes on Cincinnati
After dropping the first two series of the year, Northwestern (1-7) will take on the University of Cincinnati Bearcats (3-3) for a four-game series at UC Baseball Stadium this weekend. The two teams will face off for the first time since the Wildcats swept a three-game set in 2016.
The Opponent
The Bearcats enter the series with a .500 record after picking up a midweek win on Wednesday against Ohio State. Cincinnati split a four-game series with Florida Gulf Coast to start the season, but inclement weather cancelled three of the Bearcats’ four scheduled games against North Alabama last weekend. Cincinnati’s lone game against UNA resulted in a 5-2 defeat last Friday.
The Bearcats’ offense has carried the team through its first six games. The team has slugged .480 with 12 home runs and eight doubles this year, averaging 7.3 runs per game. Junior outfielder Paul Komisteck leads the team with 13 hits in his six starts, including three homers.
Cincinnati’s pitching staff struggled to begin the season, yielding 46 runs to FGCU in its first series. In the last two games, the Bearcats surrendered only nine runs, including holding Ohio State scoreless over the final six innings of Wednesday’s game. Illinois native Tristan Weaver is UC’s top arm, drawing the start in the first game of the team’s two series so far. Sophomore Zach Segal has handled the late-game relief duties for Cincinnati, collecting the team’s only save on Feb. 19.
Last season, the Bearcats finished fourth in the American Athletic Conference and did not qualify for the 2021 NCAA Baseball Tournament.
The Schedule
With rainstorms forecasted for Sunday in southwest Ohio, the Wildcats and Bearcats altered the series schedule and will play doubleheaders Friday and Saturday.
Game 1: Friday Mar. 4, 12 p.m. CT, seven-inning game
Game 2: Friday Mar. 4, approximately 40 minutes after Game 1, nine-inning game
Game 3: Saturday Mar. 5, 12 p.m. CT, seven-inning game
Game 4: Saturday Mar. 5, approximately 40 minutes after Game 1, nine-inning game
If the first game of a doubleheader reaches extra innings, the second game of that doubleheader will shift to a seven-inning contest.
Projected Game 1 Starting Pitchers
Northwestern: RHP Mike Doherty (0-1, 9.1 IP, 14 ER)
Cincinnati: LHP Tristan Weaver (1-1, 9.1 IP, 4 ER)
How to Watch
All four games will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Links to the broadcast and live stats feeds for each game are below.
Sullivan Earns Big Ten Award
On Wednesday, the Big Ten Conference released its second Weekly Baseball Honors of the season. Wildcats’ first-year pitcher Sean Sullivan received the Freshman of the Week honor for his performance against Santa Clara last weekend. Sullivan fanned nine in six shutout innings last Saturday, picking up his first collegiate win in a 10-0 Northwestern triumph. Sullivan, an Andover, Mass. native who prepped at Tabor Academy, ranks third in ERA and sixth in strikeouts in the Big Ten through the first two weeks of the season.
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