Sweeps are never easy to stomach. Sweeps that extend a losing streak and slide your team to the bottom of the conference standings are even more unpleasant. With three losses in Ann Arbor over the weekend, Northwestern baseball sits at the basement of the Big Ten and the benchmarks for success in 2026 have officially shifted. The Wolverines didn’t necessarily dominate the Wildcats. Rather, Northwestern failed to play a single sound, complete game over the weekend, as it’s often failed to do all year.
In my first column of the season, I articulated just how vital 2026 could be for Northwestern baseball and it’s disappointing, to say the least, that 2026 will likely be a step backwards for Ben Greenspan and the Wildcats after showing so much promise the year prior. The markers of improvement Wildcats fans were anticipating: stronger starting pitching, better plate discipline, minimal whiff, simply have not been there. Instead of highlighting the “best” from such a lackluster performance against Michigan, let’s instead look forward to the final few Big Ten series and set some realistic expectations.
The Good
One fairly easy way to sum up Northwestern’s pitching struggles this year is through a new stat I’ve created, K/HR rate, in other words, how many strikeouts does a pitching staff get for every home run they allow? The Wildcats have allowed the most home runs and struck out the fewest batters in the Big Ten, and their K/HR rate is an appallingly low 3.83, near half that of the second-worst Big Ten school. Against Michigan, however, Wildcats pitchers struck out 16 and surrendered just a single long ball. It’s impossible to expect this team to succeed if they continue to allow home runs at such an alarming rate and although this staff is still flawed, it was great to see some improvement in this department over the weekend.
The bullpen especially shined in this series. Garrett Shearer, Dominic DeLoreto, Tommy Bridges and Drew Dickson combined for 8 ⅔ innings, seven strikeouts, four hits, and just a single earned run. Shearer has flashed plus-plus stuff since he debuted for the Wildcats, but getting shutdown performances from guys like Dickson and Bridges should keep Northwestern in close, winnable games down the stretch.
The Bad
Last week I reprimanded the ‘Cats offense for their lack of thump, as illustrated by their modest count of four extra-base hits against Purdue. To Wildcats’ fans chagrin, things only got worse against the Wolverines. Northwestern recorded a measly three extra-base knocks over the weekend as they continue to slide down the Big Ten slugging percentage leaderboard. It’s not as if the Northwestern offense completely froze — they recorded 20 hits and walked ten times — but singles and baserunners can only get you so far.
To add insult to injury, as the season has worn on, Northwestern’s situational hitting has faltered. RBI base knocks have become sacrifice flies, two-out ground balls are no longer finding holes, and it feels like, in the moment when this offense is craving the “big hit” more than ever, no one can come through consistently.
What’s Next?
So, where do we go from here? Yes, the ‘Cats secured an exciting victory against Bradley yesterday to get back in the win-column, most fans are almost entirely invested in this team’s in-conference performance. Regardless of their Big Ten record, I will continue to argue in favor of this squad’s talent, especially the bats. From a talent standpoint, they should not rank in the bottom three in the Big Ten in BA, OBP and OPS, but that’s where we are. It’s clear, the 2026 Wildcats were not poised to make the leap in Greenspan’s third year that would have guaranteed some serious momentum. Now, we just have to hope it does not become an entirely lost season. It will be an uphill battle to make the Big Ten Tournament, but I still believe this team can and should get there. The Wildcats’ final conference opponents are Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois and Rutgers, all of whom are sub-.500 in Big Ten play. If Greenspan can get any form of consistency from his starting pitching, and if the bats can rediscover their pop, the Big Ten Tournament is still in reach.
