MESA, Ariz. — Despite a sterling pitching performance by junior Hank Christie, Northwestern started their season with an extra-innings, 4-3 setback to Brigham Young on Friday night at Mesa Park.
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Christie allowed a lead-off triple and then a sacrifice fly for the only scoring of the evening for the Cougars. The Illinois native retired nine out of his next ten batters through the end of the third inning.
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No players entered scoring position after the game-opening triple. He finished with 6.0 innings of three-hit, one-run ball. He struck out four and walked only one.
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Northwestern had runners in scoring position in the second and fourth innings but came up empty-handed.
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In the sixth inning, NU loaded the bases on BYU's starter Jordan Wood on back-to-back-to-back singles, forcing the Cougars to pull their starter. After BYU's reliever Blake Inouye dispatched the first two Wildcat batters, first-year designated hitter Michael Trautwein drew a bases-loaded walk to even up the tally at 1-1.
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Junior outfielder Leo Kaplan followed up with a two-run single which drove in senior Willie Bourbon and redshirt first-year David Dunn. The Wildcats finished the inning with a 3-1 lead over BYU.
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The Cougars were held scoreless until the eighth inning, when they plated a pair on a wild pitch and a Wildcat fielding error.
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The score remained 3-3 until the bottom of the 10th inning, when Jackson Cluff clubbed an RBI single.
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Chicago's Big Ten Team plays again tomorrow at Sloan Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs. NU will again battle BYU, this time in a double-header. The first game is set to start at 2 p.m. CT.
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OF NOTE:
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Christie allowed a lead-off triple and then a sacrifice fly for the only scoring of the evening for the Cougars. The Illinois native retired nine out of his next ten batters through the end of the third inning.
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No players entered scoring position after the game-opening triple. He finished with 6.0 innings of three-hit, one-run ball. He struck out four and walked only one.
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??| "It's exciting. It's something I can build off of."
— Northwestern Baseball (@NUCatsBaseball) February 16, 2019
Hank Christie talks about his 6.0-inning, three-hit performance against BYU.#B1GCats pic.twitter.com/UBflMVKtcc
Northwestern had runners in scoring position in the second and fourth innings but came up empty-handed.
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In the sixth inning, NU loaded the bases on BYU's starter Jordan Wood on back-to-back-to-back singles, forcing the Cougars to pull their starter. After BYU's reliever Blake Inouye dispatched the first two Wildcat batters, first-year designated hitter Michael Trautwein drew a bases-loaded walk to even up the tally at 1-1.
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Junior outfielder Leo Kaplan followed up with a two-run single which drove in senior Willie Bourbon and redshirt first-year David Dunn. The Wildcats finished the inning with a 3-1 lead over BYU.
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The Cougars were held scoreless until the eighth inning, when they plated a pair on a wild pitch and a Wildcat fielding error.
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The score remained 3-3 until the bottom of the 10th inning, when Jackson Cluff clubbed an RBI single.
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Chicago's Big Ten Team plays again tomorrow at Sloan Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs. NU will again battle BYU, this time in a double-header. The first game is set to start at 2 p.m. CT.
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OF NOTE:
- Junior Alex Erro went 2-for-5 with a run scored. He extended his hitting streak to 15 games, dating back to last season.
- Senior Jack Dunn drew a hit by pitch, extending his on-base streak to 27-straight games, dating back to last season.
- Redshirt first-year David Dunn went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a walk.
- Senior Ben Dickey went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.
- First-year Shawn Goosenberg picked up a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning, his first collegiate hit.
- The Wildcats tallied 10 hits, compared to BYU's five.