Northwestern Baseball Drops Series After Game One Win
Northwestern entered its weekend series against Nebraska sitting at 16-18, a much better mark than in recent seasons by this point. They aren't world beaters, but they are finding ways to win ballgames and stay close to an even record.
Against Nebraska, the Wildcats did just that in game one but failed to secure the series win in games two and three.
On Friday, Northwestern had starter Sam Hliboki on the mound in his home ballpark, but he didn't have his best stuff. The big right hander gave up six earned runs in six innings pitched. Four of those runs came via the long ball which was his kryptonite throughout the outing.
However, the Wildcat offense also came to play. Behind homers from Preston Knott, Jackson Freeman and Ryan Kucherak, Northwestern was able to stay in the game despite Nebraska's onslaught.
Heading into the eighth inning, Northwestern clung to a 7-6 lead. Third baseman Joshua Overbeek stepped to the plate for the 'Huskers to face releiver Crawford Wade. Wade had been perfect since he entered in the seventh, but Overbeek got to him, crushing his second homer of the game to tie the score.
It was Bennett Markinson who refused to let this one get away from Northwestern, driving in two in the top of the ninth on an RBI single. From there, Crawford was able to shut the door, and the Wildcats took a 1-0 series lead.
Game two didn't go as well. Nebraska jumped on NU early once again, scoring seven runs in the first two frames off of Matthew Kouser. He'd go on to allow 11 total runs in the contest. This time, though, Northwestern failed to match the 'Huskers offensively and fell 14-4.
The 'Cats started Christian Forniss in the rubber match hoping to come home with a series win. But, once again, the lineup fell flat, failing to put a run on the board until the seventh inning. Nebraska secured the series win with a 5-2 victory in game three.
Northwestern will be back in action this afternoon against UIC. It will then play a home series against Washington next weekend.
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Ryan Cole is a writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI covering every team on campus. He’s currently a junior at NU where he’s studying journalism and previously wrote and edited for Inside NU. He also studies business with an eye towards eventually helping develop business models to revive local news. In his free time, Cole enjoys watching sports, playing sports, reading the news and singing.