EAST LANSING, Mich. — Northwestern was topped, 8-3, in the lidlifter of their series with Michigan State on Friday night at McLane Stadium.
 
Shawn Goosenberg went 3-for-3 with a run scored and a walk.
 
Quinn Lavelle, who started the game for the Wildcats, allowed only two earned runs over 4.1 innings pitched. The appearance marked his seventh this season — out of 11 starts — in which he has allowed two or fewer earned runs.
 
Northwestern struck first, scoring on a Willie Bourbon RBI single in the first inning.
 
Earlier in the inning, Goosenberg swiped his 10th bag of the season in as many chances, the most stolen bases without a caught stealing by a Wildcat so far this season.
 
The Spartans equalized in the bottom half of the first on an RBI ground-out. Michigan State would score twice more in the second — on a bloop single and a bases-loaded walk — and then once more in the third to push the score to 4-2.
 
The Wildcats, however, would chip back at the lead with a clutch, RBI single by Michael Trautwein down the right-field line that drove in Ben Dickey.
 
MSU scored again in the sixth, making the score 5-2. The Spartan bats exploded for thee more in the seventh, further extending the lead to 8-2.
 
Northwestern scored a run in the eighth on an RBI ground out by David Dunn.
 
The Wildcats and the Spartans are schedule to play two more games in the series, one on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. CT and one on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. CT. Inclement weather may change that, however, so stay tuned to NU's social media channels.
 

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