Northwestern needed a win this weekend, coming off of two straight weekend series sweeps at the hands of Purdue and Michigan. After winning two nonconference midweek games, the 'Cats were in Minnesota this weekend to try to build off that momentum.
But the results were the same. The Wildcats struggled to score, a concerning trend that's emerged since a lot of early-season success at the plate, and the pitching couldn't keep them in any of the games.
On Friday, the 'Cats immediately fell into a 2-0 hole. A Noah Ruiz RBI briefly brought the deficit to 2-1, but the Gophers scored three runs off starting pitcher Jake Rifenburg in the third inning to take a commanding lead.
Any hope of a comeback was then dashed in the fifth inning, when Minnesota put eight runs on the board for a crushing crooked number. Garrett Shearer and Christian Forniss combined to allow most of the runs in that inning.
As a result, Minnesota was able to end the opener early, beating NU 13-1 in a seven-inning run-rule decision. It was a pretty poor start for a team desperate to put a conference W on the board.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, it was a precursor for what was to come.
In game two on Saturday, Northwestern actually got a high-quality start from Ryan Weaver. The Wildcat starting pitcher tossed seven innings of two-run ball before he trotted out to take the mound in the eighth.
At that point, Northwestern actually led 3-2 after a Jay Slater three-run bomb in the top half of the inning. Again, though, the Wildcats were bit by the big inning. Weaver didn't have his best stuff left in the tank, and NU surrendered five runs in the inning, making the score 7-3 with one more opportunity at the plate. The 'Cats couldn't score any more runs, and that was the final score in game two.
The finale on Sunday was fairly similar to the Saturday game in the sense that Northwestern couldn't get anything going offensively in the early or even middle innings.
The game was 0-0 entering the sixth, as NU got another solid start, this time from Matthew Kouser. But the Wildcats wouldn't be able to keep the Gopher bats silent forever.
In the sixth, Minnesota scratched two runs across the board, and then yet another blow-up inning happened in the seventh. The Gophers put a five-spot up on the Wildcats to all-but secure the sweep.
Jake Yang and Owen McElfatrick each drove in runs in the eighth, but it wasn't enough to put a dent in the deficit. Minnesota closed out game three by a score of 7-2.
Next weekend, Northwestern is back in action at home to take on Indiana. Game one will be played on Friday at Wrigley Field. It will be an opportunity for them to get back on track in conference play at a temple of baseball.