Northwestern baseball has had a unique season. Statistically speaking, it's been pretty rough -- the 'Cats are No. 15 in the Big Ten in both OPS and ERA. But in reality, the 'Cats' best hitters have come through for them the majority of the team, and the pitching has been the team's achilles heel.
Now, though, the wheels seem to be at risk of coming off in both departments. After getting swept at home by Purdue last week, the 'Cats traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines this weekend. Once again, Northwestern came away with no wins and now sits at 5-13 in conference.
Given the talent in the middle of the order -- Ryan Kucherak, Jackson Freeman and Jack Lausch, to name a few -- it would be disappointing for NU to slide back to the bottom of the conference again. But that is what it's currently in the process of doing.
In game one, Owen McElfatrick got his team out to an early 2-0 lead with an RBI-single in the first. But it was immediately clear that Northwestern starter Jake Rifenburg didn't have his best stuff.
Michigan fired back with a run in the first and three more in the second to take a 4-2 lead in the early innings. Northwestern got it back to 4-3 on a Freeman RBI groundout in the third, but the Wolverines rattled off three straight runs after that and held the 'Cats scoreless until the ninth.
In that final frame, the Wildcat lineup tried to make a comeback. Catcher Jay Slater and Kucherak both hit home runs to bring the deficit back to one, but the effort wasn't quite enough. Once again, the 'Cats scored enough runs to win a ballgame, but seven earned runs allowed by their starting pitcher sank the ship.
In game two, Northwestern suffered from a bad start once again. Matthew Kouser allowed five in the opening frame, and the 'Cats were immediately in a massive hole. This time, though, the offense sputtered as well.
McElfatrick got one back in the third on an RBI-single, but NU didn't score again until the eighth, when it was already down 8-1. The final score was 8-3 on a rough Saturday for the road team.
Sundays game was one we haven't seen much from this year's group. Northwestern got a very good start from Ryan Weaver, who went 5.1 innings and allowed just two earned runs. Drew Dickson also went 2.2 scoreless innings in relief.
But the 'Cats couldn't scratch enough runs across the board to make those performances matter. They scored a run on a passed ball in the fifth, but they lost 2-1.
Now at 14-21-1 overall, Northwestern's record is starting to slip back into the territory it's been in recent depressing seasons. It has two midweek games coming up, one on Tuesday against Bradley and one on Wednesday against St. Thomas. It will the try to get back on track in conference at Minnesota next weekend.