Northwestern
4-7
Butler
3-7
Northwestern's Late Surge Falls Short
3/5/2016 7:19:00 PM | Baseball
Northwestern (4-7) outhit Butler (3-7) in the contest, 17-15. Nine Wildcats tallied hits on the afternoon, led by Zach Jones and Matt Hopfner who each collected four knocks.
Hopfner (0-1) was the losing pitcher of record after coming in from right field to pitch during the 10th inning and surrendering the go-ahead run. Butler's Zach Barnes picked up his first win of the season.
Peter Hofman made his second start of the season and went 2.1 innings to earn a no decision. Jake Stolley came out of the bullpen in the seventh inning and tossed a team-high 3.0 innings to keep the Wildcats within striking distance through the late stages of the game.
Northwestern trailed, 7-1, in the bottom of the fifth until the Wildcats' bats got hot, scoring six runs over the next three innings to pull within a run, 8-7. The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the top half of the ninth inning to take a 9-7 lead into the final frame.
With their backs against the wall, Northwestern scraped together a pair of runs to stay alive. After hitting a single to begin the inning, Z. Jones advanced to second on a wild pitch. Joe Hoscheit ripped a double to the gap on the next pitch to trade places with Z. Jones at second base and bring the 'Cats within a run.
Hoscheit finished the game 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.
In the following at-bat, Hopfner doubled down the leftfield line to bring home the game-tying run and eventually send the game to extra innings.
The Bulldogs played small ball in the top half of the 10th and managed to score the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to right field.
Northwestern will play its final game of the Snowbird Baseball Classic tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT against in-state foe Illinois State.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: BARNES, Zach (1-0)
L: Hopfner, Matt (0-1)
Batting:
2B: PARKER, Gehrig 1
3B: PARKER, Gehrig 1
RBI: SMALL, Drew 1 ; HOUSTON, Tyler 1 ; LUCIO, Jordan 1 ; PARKER, Gehrig 2 ; DALL, Connor 2 ; HARTNAGEL, Michael 1
SH: MARANTO, Chris 1 ; LUCIO, Jordan 1 ; PARKER, Gehrig 1 ; CHRISTMAN, Garrett 1
SF: HOUSTON, Tyler 1 ; DALL, Connor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SMALL, Drew 1 ; BARTOLONE, Nick 1 ; HOUSTON, Tyler 2 ; LUCIO, Jordan 2 ; PARKER, Gehrig 2 ; DALL, Connor 1 ; HARTNAGEL, Michael 1
SB: SMALL, Drew 1 ; HOUSTON, Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Dunn, Jack 1 ; Hoscheit, Joe 1 ; Hopfner, Matt 2
RBI: Jones, Zach 2 ; Hoscheit, Joe 2 ; Hopfner, Matt 1 ; Lind, Connor 1 ; Jones, Mat 1
SH: Dunn, Jack 1 ; Dickey, Ben 1
SF: Lind, Connor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Zach 2 ; Hoscheit, Joe 1 ; Hopfner, Matt 1 ; Lind, Connor 1 ; Bourbon, Willie 1 ; Jones, Mat 1 ; Reimer, JR 2
SB: Hopfner, Matt 1
