Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, February 18
Birmingham, AL
2 p.m. CT
Northwestern
at
UAB
'Cats Open Season With Four-Game Series at UAB
2/17/2022 4:07:00 PM | Baseball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern baseball opens its season this weekend in Birmingham, Ala. with a four-game series against UAB.
First pitch for Opening Day on Friday is set for 2 p.m. CT, while Saturday's double-header will start at 1 p.m. CT. The series-finale is set for Sunday at noon.
The Wildcats are coming off a 15-win season in which they crushed a program-record 66 home runs for a Big Ten-leading 1.83 home runs per game.
This weekend will see Josh Reynolds's first series as the leader of the Northwestern program, as he takes the reigns as Interim Head Coach in 2022. Reynolds spent the last six seasons as Northwestern's pitching coach and took a lead role in the team's recruiting efforts.
The 'Cats return five members of their starting lineup, including 2021 First Team All-Big Ten honoree Anthony Calarco, who hit .295 (44-for-149) with a .925 OPS in 36 games as the starting first baseman last season.
Also returning to the lineup is junior outfielder Stephen Hrustich, who finished last season tied for fifth in the Big Ten in home runs (11), sixth in slugging percentage (.609) and seventh in OPS (1.009).
Senior Mike Doherty is set to lead the Wildcat rotation again, after posting team-best totals in innings pitched (63.1), ERA (3.69), and WHIP (1.25) last season. Doherty allowed only three home runs last season, tied for the least among Big Ten pitchers with 50+ innings pitched.
Looking to take a step forward on the 'Cats pitching staff this season is hard-throwing sophomore Ben Grable, who was recently named a Top-10 prospect in the Big Ten for the 2023 MLB Draft by Baseball America. Grable led the Wildcats with an impressive 12.2 K/9 (strikeouts per nine innings) in 17.2 innings last season.
First pitch for Opening Day on Friday is set for 2 p.m. CT, while Saturday's double-header will start at 1 p.m. CT. The series-finale is set for Sunday at noon.
The Wildcats are coming off a 15-win season in which they crushed a program-record 66 home runs for a Big Ten-leading 1.83 home runs per game.
This weekend will see Josh Reynolds's first series as the leader of the Northwestern program, as he takes the reigns as Interim Head Coach in 2022. Reynolds spent the last six seasons as Northwestern's pitching coach and took a lead role in the team's recruiting efforts.
The 'Cats return five members of their starting lineup, including 2021 First Team All-Big Ten honoree Anthony Calarco, who hit .295 (44-for-149) with a .925 OPS in 36 games as the starting first baseman last season.
Also returning to the lineup is junior outfielder Stephen Hrustich, who finished last season tied for fifth in the Big Ten in home runs (11), sixth in slugging percentage (.609) and seventh in OPS (1.009).
Senior Mike Doherty is set to lead the Wildcat rotation again, after posting team-best totals in innings pitched (63.1), ERA (3.69), and WHIP (1.25) last season. Doherty allowed only three home runs last season, tied for the least among Big Ten pitchers with 50+ innings pitched.
Looking to take a step forward on the 'Cats pitching staff this season is hard-throwing sophomore Ben Grable, who was recently named a Top-10 prospect in the Big Ten for the 2023 MLB Draft by Baseball America. Grable led the Wildcats with an impressive 12.2 K/9 (strikeouts per nine innings) in 17.2 innings last season.
Players Mentioned
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