A sizzling hot start by Northwestern’s offense fueled its 7-1 win over Illinois State at Rocky and Bernice Miller Park on Tuesday.
The Wildcats (20-25-1, 7-17 B1G) built off the momentum of a weekend series win over Indiana with a wire-to-wire victory over the Redbirds (30-18, 12-9 MVC). NU has scored 23 runs over its last three games, indicating that the bats may be getting hot at the perfect time.
Sam Hliboki got the start for Northwestern and stifled the RedBirds early, putting all of the attention
on the Wildcat offense.
After an Owen McElfatrick leadoff walk, Jack Lausch got the party started with a towering two-run blast to center field, his third straight game with a home run.
In the second inning, the ‘Cats continued to tee off on Illinois State’s Brayd Zilis. A hit-by-pitch preceded a Charlie Caruso RBI double, which was NU’s third run. Then, McElfatrick snuck a two-run shot of his own around the left field foul pole to score the Wildcats’ fourth and fifth runs of the ballgame just two innings in. The Redbirds reacted with an immediate pitching change, but the damage was done.
Illinois State responded quickly in the top of the third via a Gra Mastros solo home run, but both pitching staffs settled into the game after the early barrage of offense.
Jake Rifenburg relieved Hliboki in the sixth after the NU starter went five innings, giving up just one run on four hits. The score remained 5-1 until the bottom of the sixth, when the ‘Cats struck again.
A leadoff single followed by a walk put men on the base paths, heightening pressure on the Redbird defense. Illinois State made a pitching change, sensing the turning of the tide, but Nick Barron scurried across the plate on a later wild pitch, and Jake Yang crossed home on a stolen base attempt. The Wildcats scored two runs in the sixth on just one hit.
Rifenburg shut down the Redbirds in the seventh for his second 1-2-3 inning, and James Whitaker closed out the game, allowing just one baserunner over the final two innings. Northwestern secured the 7-1 victory, its third straight win.
The Wildcats play another in-state rival this weekend, heading south to face Illinois. If Northwestern wants to be one of the top-12 Big Ten teams to qualify for the conference tournament later this month, its final two series against Illinois and Rutgers are must-wins. NU likely has to win four or five of its next six conference games to give itself a chance. But considering that the Fighting Illini and the Scarlet Knights are in similar positions to Northwestern in the Big Ten standings, this could be both a blessing and a curse. Rutgers currently holds the 12th spot in the Big Ten with nine wins, and Illinois is just above it with 10. The only thing the ‘Cats can be sure about is that they need to continue winning games.
