Northwestern University Athletics

Photo by: S. J. Carrera, Inc.
'Cats Comeback Effort Falls Short in Series Opener
4/17/2021 11:16:00 AM | Baseball
EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern (11-11, 11-11) dropped the first game of a three-game series, 5-4, against Indiana (14-7, 14-7) in a Friday afternoon thriller at Miller Park.
After falling behind 5-0, the Wildcats scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to bring the game within one.
Trailing 5-0 headed into the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcats mounted a furious rally. David Dunn started things off with a leadoff walk on a full count, followed by one-out singles from Evan Minarovic and Ethan O'Donnell. Leo Kaplan drove the first Wildcat run on an infield single to third base. Anthony Calarco followed Kaplan, driving Minarovic in. One batter later, Stephen Hrustich belted a ball to left field, taking a bounce on the warning track before going over the ball for a ground-rule double, scoring Kaplan and Calarco.
The Wildcats got a runner on in both the 8th and 9th innings, but couldn't bring the runner home in either inning. The Wildcats finished with nine hits with seven of the nine Wildcat starters notching a hit. Kaplan led the team with two hits.
Garrett Boeckle was strong in relief, recording three strikeouts in three innings.
Northwestern will look to tie the series up at one tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT against the Hoosiers, with coverage live on Big Ten Network+.
After falling behind 5-0, the Wildcats scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to bring the game within one.
Trailing 5-0 headed into the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcats mounted a furious rally. David Dunn started things off with a leadoff walk on a full count, followed by one-out singles from Evan Minarovic and Ethan O'Donnell. Leo Kaplan drove the first Wildcat run on an infield single to third base. Anthony Calarco followed Kaplan, driving Minarovic in. One batter later, Stephen Hrustich belted a ball to left field, taking a bounce on the warning track before going over the ball for a ground-rule double, scoring Kaplan and Calarco.
The Wildcats got a runner on in both the 8th and 9th innings, but couldn't bring the runner home in either inning. The Wildcats finished with nine hits with seven of the nine Wildcat starters notching a hit. Kaplan led the team with two hits.
Garrett Boeckle was strong in relief, recording three strikeouts in three innings.
Northwestern will look to tie the series up at one tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT against the Hoosiers, with coverage live on Big Ten Network+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sommer, Tommy (4-1)
L: Doherty, Mike (1-1)
S: Litwicki, Matt (4)
Batting:
2B: Toetz, Paul 1 ; Espalin, James 1
RBI: Toetz, Paul 1 ; Fougerousse, Kip 2 ; Colopy, Morgan 1 ; Van Pelt, Tyler 1
SF: Colopy, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ashley, Drew 1 ; Richardson, Grant 2 ; Barr, Cole 1 ; Toetz, Paul 1
HBP: Ashley, Drew 1 ; Hopkins, Collin 1

Batting:
2B: Goosenberg, Shawn 1 ; Hrustich, Stephen 1
RBI: Calarco, Anthony 1 ; Hrustich, Stephen 2 ; Kaplan, Leo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dunn, David 1 ; Minarovic, Evan 1 ; O'Donnell, Ethan 1 ; Kaplan, Leo 1
SB: Goosenberg, Shawn 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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