Northwestern entered this weekend's weekend series against Indiana coming off a mid-week win over Milwaukee. But it hadn't won a Big Ten game in an awfully long time, suffering three-straight sweeps against conference competition.
The 'Cats played host to the Hoosiers this weekend, and the first contest was Northwestern's annual Wrigley Field Game, where Cubs superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong was scheduled to throw out the first pitch.
The home team fell in the opener at the Friendly Confines, but it got back on track and managed to win the series at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park in Evanston.
In game one, Wildcat starting pitcher Ryan Weaver got Northwestern behind the eight ball early. He allowed four earned runs in the third inning to give Indiana a commanding 5-0 lead heading into the middle frames.
Noah Ruiz got the 'Cats on the board with a 2-RBI hit in the seventh, but it was too little, too late. The Hoosiers added a few insurance runs in the late innings and cruised to a 9-2 victory at Wrigley.
The loss in the opener highlighted a few concerning trends that have led to a slew losses in recent weekends. For one, the starting pitcher struggled, which has been an issue all season. But Northwestern's offense also took too long to get going, something that's emerged as of late.
It flipped the script in game two, though, behind a solid start from Matthew Kouser. Northwestern's starter went six full innings, allowing just three earned runs on seven hits with four Ks and two walks.
Down 3-0 in the bottom of the third, NU also got its offense going before the late innings. The 'Cats managed to tie the score in that frame behind a bases clearing double from Ryan Kucherak.
Then, in the fifth, Jack Lausch hit a two-run bomb to take the lead, and they didn't look back. Kucherak notched two more RBIs in the game, and Jake Rifenberg shut the door on a streak-breaking 7-4 victory at home.
In the rubber match, Northwestern's offense got started even earlier. After going down 1-0 in the top of the first, catcher Jay Slater tied the score in the bottom half with a single.
In the second, the 'Cats exploded for five more runs including Lausch and Ruiz bombs to take a solid lead. Starter Alex Grant gave a couple back in the following inning, but he was pulled for Drew Dickson who promptly went 3.2 innings without allowing a run.
Up 8-3 in the eighth, Garrett Shearer surrendered three runs to make things closer, but a Nick Barron homer provided some insurance and James Whitaker was able to put up a zero in the ninth.
Northwestern got back on track this weekend, and it will hope to keep that momentum going this week against Illinois State. It will then travel to Champaign to take on the Fighting Illini next weekend.