Northwestern University Athletics
Thursday, May 17
Evanston, Ill.
3:30 p.m.
Northwestern
vs
Belmont
Photo by: S. J. Carrera, Inc.
Northwestern Closes Out 2018 Season with Belmont
5/16/2018 12:01:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHWESTERN NOTES
EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern baseball wraps up the 2018 regular season this week when it hosts Belmont in a three-game set beginning on Thursday, May 17. The Wildcats and Bruins will play at 3:30 p.m. CT on Thursday and Friday, before facing off in the finale on Saturday at noon CT.
This weekend's series marks the final time that seven members of the program will take to the Miller Park diamond. Seniors Tommy Bordignon, Jack Claeys, Richard Fordon, Mat Jones, Connor Lind, JR Reimer and Ryan Vukovich will be honored prior to Saturday's season finale. Senior Day ceremonies are set to begin at 11:40 a.m. CT
Northwestern (16-30) enters the weekend series having won seven of its last 13 contests, which includes a sweep of Penn State (April 27-29) and a series win over Iowa (May 11-13). The Wildcats fell in a 19-10 slugfest to Notre Dame (May 15) last time out.
NU is in the midst of a season-long, seven-game homestand. The club is 2-2 during the stint.
Belmont (17-35) comes into the series having lost eight of its last nine games with the only victory coming in the form of a 10-6 extra-inning win over Southeast Missouri on May 13. The Bruins own a 5-17 road record this season.
Matt Cogen is the lone Belmont player hitting above the .300 mark this season. The sophomore outfielder is batting .357 with a team-best 80 hits, 26 more than any other player on the roster, and a .540 slugging percentage. He has 46 RBI and 24 extra-base hits.
LAST MEETING
Northwestern and Belmont met for the first time in the 2017 season with the Bruins holding on for a 6-1 victory in Nashville. Hank Christie made his second career start and went 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits, while striking out three. Mat Jones drove in Northwestern's lone run on a sacrifice fly.
CAREER YEAR FOR JACK DUNN
Junior Jack Dunn is on pace to finish with his best season at the dish. He enters the weekend with a team-best .309 clip and .376 slugging percentage. The Alpharetta, Georgia, native has 56 hits this season, besting his previous single-season high of 55 that he set in his rookie campaign. Dunn posted a 14-game hitting streak this season, the longest of his career, and he has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games. Entering the season, Dunn had 18 stolen bases in his career. He has matched that total in his junior season with a team-best 18 swipes. Dunn has only made four errors this season after tallying 13 in each of the prior two campaigns.
SENIOR SENDOFFS
A few of Northwestern's seniors are on track to close their careers on high notes.
Reliever Richard Fordon has struck out a career-high 29 batters this season, besting his previous single-season mark of 16, which he set during his junior campaign. Fordon has tossed a career-high 31.0 innings and has picked up all three of his career saves this season. The left-hander has made 19 appearances in his senior season, which matches his career single-season high.
Jack Claeys has left his mark during his final campaign. The senior catcher enters the weekend batting .296, 46 points higher than his previous single-season high. Claeys has started a career-high 44 games this season and has tallied a single-season high marks in hits (47), runs (24), home runs (8) and RBI (35). The Eden Prairie, Minnesota, native has really stepped up his power performance at the plate this year, slugging a career-best .497 entering the final weekend. His previous high was a .379 slugging percentage that he posted last season.
Senior Tommy Bordignon is on pace to have one of his most effective seasons in a Northwestern uniform. Entering the season, Bordignon had four career saves under his belt. The Glenview, Illinois, native has surpassed his career total this season with five saves, which brings his career tally to nine. The right-hander has only allowed 13 earned runs in 31.1 innings of work – a career best. He collected his 100th career strikeout on Friday, May 11 against Iowa.
First year Quinn Lavelle (3-5, 4.52) will make his 13th start of the season on Thursday. The left-hander has thrown a team-high 65.2 innings this season and held opposing hitters to just a .267 clip. He has 39 strikeouts to 32 walks. The rookie posted his fourth-career quality start in his last appearance versus Iowa when he went 6.2 innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out five.
Sophomore Hank Christie (3-5, 4.79 ERA) is set to make his team-high 14th start of this season on Friday. Christie has thrown 62.0 innings this season and has held opposing hitters in check with a .239 batting average. The right-hander has 33 strikeouts compared to 24 walks. He enters the series against Belmont fresh off his best outing of the season.
Against Iowa last weekend, Christie threw a season-long 7.0 scoreless innings to help the Wildcats shutout the Hawkeyes, 4-0. He threw 3.0 scoreless before a two-hour rain delay put the game on hold. The sophomore did not miss a beat and returned following the delay to post another four scoreless frames. Iowa hit just .167 against Christie and only managed to get one base runner into scoring position. He struck out two batters and only issued two walks in the 26 batters he faced.
Saturday's starter is TBD.
SHUTOUTS
Northwestern ranks 51st nationally and third in the Big Ten with four shutouts this season. The Wildcats have blanked Maryland (4-0; March 30), Notre Dame (2-0; April 11), UIC (1-0; April 24) and Iowa (4-0; May 12) this season.
STEAL YOUR BAG
Northwestern has placed an emphasis on stealing bases this season. The Wildcats rank 25th nationally with 82 stolen bases. The tally ranks third among Big Ten teams. NU has swiped 1.78 bases per game, which ranks 16th nationally and 3rd in the Big Ten.
Jack Dunn and Alex Erro both rank in the top-10 among Big Ten players for stolen bases. Dunn's 18 swipes place him seventh in the conference, while Erro's 16 stolen bases rank him 10th.
Eight different Wildcats have three-or-more stolen bases this season.
EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern baseball wraps up the 2018 regular season this week when it hosts Belmont in a three-game set beginning on Thursday, May 17. The Wildcats and Bruins will play at 3:30 p.m. CT on Thursday and Friday, before facing off in the finale on Saturday at noon CT.
This weekend's series marks the final time that seven members of the program will take to the Miller Park diamond. Seniors Tommy Bordignon, Jack Claeys, Richard Fordon, Mat Jones, Connor Lind, JR Reimer and Ryan Vukovich will be honored prior to Saturday's season finale. Senior Day ceremonies are set to begin at 11:40 a.m. CT
Northwestern (16-30) enters the weekend series having won seven of its last 13 contests, which includes a sweep of Penn State (April 27-29) and a series win over Iowa (May 11-13). The Wildcats fell in a 19-10 slugfest to Notre Dame (May 15) last time out.
NU is in the midst of a season-long, seven-game homestand. The club is 2-2 during the stint.
Belmont (17-35) comes into the series having lost eight of its last nine games with the only victory coming in the form of a 10-6 extra-inning win over Southeast Missouri on May 13. The Bruins own a 5-17 road record this season.
Matt Cogen is the lone Belmont player hitting above the .300 mark this season. The sophomore outfielder is batting .357 with a team-best 80 hits, 26 more than any other player on the roster, and a .540 slugging percentage. He has 46 RBI and 24 extra-base hits.
LAST MEETING
Northwestern and Belmont met for the first time in the 2017 season with the Bruins holding on for a 6-1 victory in Nashville. Hank Christie made his second career start and went 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits, while striking out three. Mat Jones drove in Northwestern's lone run on a sacrifice fly.
CAREER YEAR FOR JACK DUNN
Junior Jack Dunn is on pace to finish with his best season at the dish. He enters the weekend with a team-best .309 clip and .376 slugging percentage. The Alpharetta, Georgia, native has 56 hits this season, besting his previous single-season high of 55 that he set in his rookie campaign. Dunn posted a 14-game hitting streak this season, the longest of his career, and he has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games. Entering the season, Dunn had 18 stolen bases in his career. He has matched that total in his junior season with a team-best 18 swipes. Dunn has only made four errors this season after tallying 13 in each of the prior two campaigns.
SENIOR SENDOFFS
A few of Northwestern's seniors are on track to close their careers on high notes.
Reliever Richard Fordon has struck out a career-high 29 batters this season, besting his previous single-season mark of 16, which he set during his junior campaign. Fordon has tossed a career-high 31.0 innings and has picked up all three of his career saves this season. The left-hander has made 19 appearances in his senior season, which matches his career single-season high.
Jack Claeys has left his mark during his final campaign. The senior catcher enters the weekend batting .296, 46 points higher than his previous single-season high. Claeys has started a career-high 44 games this season and has tallied a single-season high marks in hits (47), runs (24), home runs (8) and RBI (35). The Eden Prairie, Minnesota, native has really stepped up his power performance at the plate this year, slugging a career-best .497 entering the final weekend. His previous high was a .379 slugging percentage that he posted last season.
Senior Tommy Bordignon is on pace to have one of his most effective seasons in a Northwestern uniform. Entering the season, Bordignon had four career saves under his belt. The Glenview, Illinois, native has surpassed his career total this season with five saves, which brings his career tally to nine. The right-hander has only allowed 13 earned runs in 31.1 innings of work – a career best. He collected his 100th career strikeout on Friday, May 11 against Iowa.
First year Quinn Lavelle (3-5, 4.52) will make his 13th start of the season on Thursday. The left-hander has thrown a team-high 65.2 innings this season and held opposing hitters to just a .267 clip. He has 39 strikeouts to 32 walks. The rookie posted his fourth-career quality start in his last appearance versus Iowa when he went 6.2 innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out five.
Sophomore Hank Christie (3-5, 4.79 ERA) is set to make his team-high 14th start of this season on Friday. Christie has thrown 62.0 innings this season and has held opposing hitters in check with a .239 batting average. The right-hander has 33 strikeouts compared to 24 walks. He enters the series against Belmont fresh off his best outing of the season.
Against Iowa last weekend, Christie threw a season-long 7.0 scoreless innings to help the Wildcats shutout the Hawkeyes, 4-0. He threw 3.0 scoreless before a two-hour rain delay put the game on hold. The sophomore did not miss a beat and returned following the delay to post another four scoreless frames. Iowa hit just .167 against Christie and only managed to get one base runner into scoring position. He struck out two batters and only issued two walks in the 26 batters he faced.
Saturday's starter is TBD.
SHUTOUTS
Northwestern ranks 51st nationally and third in the Big Ten with four shutouts this season. The Wildcats have blanked Maryland (4-0; March 30), Notre Dame (2-0; April 11), UIC (1-0; April 24) and Iowa (4-0; May 12) this season.
STEAL YOUR BAG
Northwestern has placed an emphasis on stealing bases this season. The Wildcats rank 25th nationally with 82 stolen bases. The tally ranks third among Big Ten teams. NU has swiped 1.78 bases per game, which ranks 16th nationally and 3rd in the Big Ten.
Jack Dunn and Alex Erro both rank in the top-10 among Big Ten players for stolen bases. Dunn's 18 swipes place him seventh in the conference, while Erro's 16 stolen bases rank him 10th.
Eight different Wildcats have three-or-more stolen bases this season.
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