Northwestern
9-5, 9-5
Illinois
7-8, 7-8
Hot-Slugging 'Cats Down Illinois 12-5 for Series Win
3/29/2021 2:18:00 AM | Baseball
The Wildcats improved to 9-5 on the season and now sit in fourth place in the Big Ten.
On the weekend as a whole, the 'Cats hit 15 home runs in three games. Through 14 games, the team is slugging .554 on the season which ranks in the top ten nationally in Division I.
Shawn Goosenberg had an outrageous day at the plate with two two-run home runs as well as an RBI double for five RBI on the day. The shortstop is now slugging .724 on the season.
Senior Quinn Lavelle turned in a quality start on the mound and earned the win to improve to 3-0. He dialed up just what the 'Cats needed in 7.0 innings pitched, allowing three earned runs, seven hits and a walk while striking out four.
Reed Smith earned a three inning save and finished the game out effectively, allowing just one run while striking out five.
Michael Trautwein added a two-run home run to improve his team-high RBI total to 19.
Evan Minarovic and Charlie Bourbon both hit their first career home runs in the game as well. Minarovic finished with three RBI thanks to a two-run double.
Anthony Calarco notched another multi-hit day to put a bow on his excellent weekend. He finished 7-16 across the three games with a 1.125 slugging percentage.
First year Vincent Bianchina and sophomore Stephen Hrustich added multi-hit games as well with two-apiece.
Northwestern will aim to continue its hot start to the season at Maryland next week, with two games against the Terrapins and two games against Michigan. Maryland is 5-9 on the seson, but the Wolverines represents a solid test as they sit in a tie for second in the Big Ten with an 11-4 record.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lavelle, Quinn (3-0)
L: Kirschsieper,Cole (1-2)
S: Smith, Reed (1)
Batting:
2B: Calarco, Anthony 1 ; Goosenberg, Shawn 2 ; Minarovic, Evan 1
HR: Goosenberg, Shawn 2 ; Trautwein, Michael 1 ; Minarovic, Evan 1 ; Bourbon, Charlie 1
RBI: Goosenberg, Shawn 5 ; Trautwein, Michael 2 ; Bianchina, Vince 1 ; Minarovic, Evan 3 ; Bourbon, Charlie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Calarco, Anthony 1 ; Goosenberg, Shawn 2 ; Hrustich, Stephen 1 ; Trautwein, Michael 1 ; Bianchina, Vince 1 ; Kaplan, Leo 1 ; Minarovic, Evan 1 ; Bourbon, Charlie 1 ; O'Donnell, Ethan 3
HBP: Bianchina, Vince 1 ; O'Donnell, Ethan 1
Batting:
2B: Campbell,Jacob 2
HR: Kim,Andrew 1
RBI: Hampe,Ryan 2 ; Campbell,Jacob 2 ; Kim,Andrew 1
SF: Hampe,Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jackson,Taylor 1 ; Janas,Justin 1 ; McDonald,Cam 1 ; Kim,Andrew 1 ; Harding,Brody 1
CS: Comia,Branden 1
HBP: Jackson,Taylor 1
