Northwestern University Athletics
Wednesday, March 30
Evanston, Ill.
3 p.m.
Northwestern
vs
Chicago State
Rocky and Berenice Miller Park - The Home Opener
3/29/2016 9:06:00 PM | Baseball
| NORTHWESTERN BASEBALL VS CHICAGO STATE | |||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | WATCH | RADIO | LIVE STATS | |
| Wednesday, March 30 | Chicago State | 3 p.m. CT | Evanston, Ill. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | |
| Social: Twitter (@NUCatsBaseball and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (nucatsbaseball) | Facebook | |||||||
EVANSTON, Ill. — The home opener.
After 24 games on the road to open the 2016 campaign, Northwestern baseball will play its first-ever home game at the new Rocky and Berenice Miller Park on Wednesday, March 30, when it takes on Chicago State for a 3 p.m. CT contest.
The new ballpark, which will host its grand opening ceremony this Saturday, April 2, as part of Northwestern's series versus Michigan, has transformed into one of college baseball's finest facilities.
Extensive renovations to the park feature:
- The Hayden Clubhouse, which includes a new locker room and the Mogentale Players' Lounge.
- Koldyke Field, completed during the 2015 season, provides top-of-the-line synthetic surface for competition.
- The Sidney and Mildred LaPidus Dugout, which has been expanded, renovated and now includes heaters.
- Upgrades also include a new press box that features the Canning Family Private Suite and spaces for all forms of media.
- Fan amenity upgrades are also featured throughout the ballpark, including new chair-back seating, concessions, restrooms and an LED scoreboard.
Tickets to Wednesday's home opener, Saturday's grand opening celebration and all Northwestern baseball home games can be purchased here.
Also, for the first time, fans have the ability to purchase a single season pass that will be good for all 19 games at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park. Pass prices are $49 for adults and $29 for youth.
BUY YOUR SEASON PASS HERE!
Northwestern (6-18, 1-2 B1G) enters the historic home opener after taking one of three games at Ohio State in its Big Ten opening series last weekend in Columbus.
Chicago State (6-16, 0-3 WAC) is fresh off a 6-3 win over Western Michigan on Tuesday night. The win snapped the Cougars' six-game losing skid. Andy Gertonson is batting .259 for CSU with 21 hits and a .346 slugging percentage. Cody Freund ranks first on the team with nine RBIs.
Noe Arteaga (0-1, 12.66 ERA) will get the start for the Cougars tomorrow.
ON THE BUMP
Senior Jake Stolley, normally a relief pitcher for the 'Cats, will make his first-collegiate start tomorrow against the Cougars. Stolley (1-1) has appeared in eight games this season and has tallied nine strikeouts in 15 innings of work.
OFFENSIVELY GOOD
Northwestern entered the week hitting .280 as a team, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten. The Wildcats' bats have accounted for 236 hits in 24 games, which places them tied for 71st in the country and fifth among conference competitors. On 11 occasions this season, Northwestern has tallied 10-or-more hits in a game.
Seven Wildcats have already surpassed the 20-hit mark, including Matt Hopfner (36), Zach Jones (32), Jack Dunn (29), Connor Lind (24), Willie Bourbon (21), Jack Claeys (20) and Joe Hoscheit (20).
HOPPY IS HITTING
A big reason for Northwestern's offense this season is Matt Hopfner, who is hitting .404 and boasts a team-best slugging percentage of .517 in 24 games this season. Hopfner's .404 batting average places him fifth in the Big Ten Conference for that statistical category. The Edina, Minnesota, native is tied for third in league play with 36 hits.
Nine of Hopfner's 36 knocks have been extra-base hits, which includes eight doubles and a triple. Hopfner has tallied 14 multi-hit games in the 2016 campaign.
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
Northwestern's freshmen have been producing early and often in 2016.
Shortstop Jack Dunn is batting .299, which ranks seventh among Big Ten freshmen. Dunn, who put together a nine-game hitting streak earlier in the season, is one of only three Northwestern players to start in all 24 games.
Willie Bourbon, who has started 23 games at second base and the DH spot, is tied for the team lead with 13 RBIs. The #B1GCats second baseman had a breakout series at San Diego State (March 10-12), where he hit .600 in three games with a .900 slugging percentage and five RBIs.
Classmate Ben Dickey is hitting .269 with eighth RBIs in 20 games played.
CONNOR CAN
Connor Lind has been as steady as they come for Northwestern. The sophomore third baseman has reached base in 22 consecutive games and has totalled a .279 batting average and a .369 on-base percentage.
QB to RHP
Dan Kubiuk walked-on to the baseball program following the completion of the 2015-16 football season. The Northwestern reserve quarterback began the season in the bullpen for the Wildcats' baseball program, but has since transitioned to a starting role. Kubiuk has appeared in nine games with four starts. Last weekend at Ohio State, Kubiuk entered in the ninth inning of Friday night's game and struck out the only batter he faced to earn the save and help NU to a 6-5 victory. The Barrington, Illinois, native then started on the bump on Sunday versus the Buckeyes and went 5.2 innings, only surrendering four hits and two runs.
REED MY LIPS – HE CAN PITCH
Reed Mason has been the rock of the Northwestern's pitching staff this season. Northwestern's 'Friday night starter' is credited for two of the Wildcats' victories so far this season. Mason has started six games in 2016 and boasts a 3.23 ERA with a team-best 21 strikeouts. In his last outing (at Ohio State, March 25), Mason went 6.0 innings and struck out a season-high six batters.
NINE NEWCOMERS
Northwestern University head baseball coach Spencer Allen and his staff have announced that nine young men from across the country will join the program in the fall of 2016. This is the first recruiting class that Allen has brought in since taking over the reigns of the program.
The class features four pitchers, two infielders, a pair of utility players and an outfielder.
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Players Mentioned
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