Friday, April 15
Champaign, IL
6 p.m. CT
Northwestern
at
Illinois
Photo by: photo by John Konstantaras
'Cats Head Downstate for Battle of B1G Contenders
4/15/2022 8:50:00 AM | Baseball
Champaign, IL - Northwestern Baseball stays in the Land of Lincoln this weekend for a crucial conference matchup against Illinois in Champaign. The Wildcats will open the series at 6 p.m. on Friday, before afternoon matchups at 3 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
Northwestern (15-13, 4-2 B1G) heads into the weekend series 1.5 games behind Illinois (16-14, 7-2) for second place in the Big Ten. This will be their first matchup since a series in Champaign last weekend that saw the Wildcats win two out of three against the Illini.
The 'Cats took down Penn State in a three-game series at Rocky & Berenice Miller Park last weekend, behind a pair of walk-off hits. Jay Beshears ripped a single to defeat the Nittany Lions on Friday, before Hrustich crushed a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to win the series on Sunday.
Anthony Calarco had the hot bat against Penn State, hitting .455 against Penn State with four RBIs, a pair of doubles and a home run. His brother Alex Calarco drove him home in a win over the Nittany Lions, the first Calarco-to-Calarco RBI of the 2022 season.
In a 14-4 run-rule victory over NAIA foe Roosevelt on Tuesday, Hrustich hit a game-ending home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to send Northwestern to their 13th win in their last 16 games.
On the mound, the battery mates of Sean Sullivan and Michael Farinelli will look to continue a pair of strong debut seasons in Evanston. Despite taking the loss against the Nittany Lions on Saturday, Farinelli was once again brilliant with eight innings of one-run baseball.
This season, the two Northwestern starters are a combined 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA.
Northwestern (15-13, 4-2 B1G) heads into the weekend series 1.5 games behind Illinois (16-14, 7-2) for second place in the Big Ten. This will be their first matchup since a series in Champaign last weekend that saw the Wildcats win two out of three against the Illini.
The 'Cats took down Penn State in a three-game series at Rocky & Berenice Miller Park last weekend, behind a pair of walk-off hits. Jay Beshears ripped a single to defeat the Nittany Lions on Friday, before Hrustich crushed a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to win the series on Sunday.
Anthony Calarco had the hot bat against Penn State, hitting .455 against Penn State with four RBIs, a pair of doubles and a home run. His brother Alex Calarco drove him home in a win over the Nittany Lions, the first Calarco-to-Calarco RBI of the 2022 season.
In a 14-4 run-rule victory over NAIA foe Roosevelt on Tuesday, Hrustich hit a game-ending home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to send Northwestern to their 13th win in their last 16 games.
On the mound, the battery mates of Sean Sullivan and Michael Farinelli will look to continue a pair of strong debut seasons in Evanston. Despite taking the loss against the Nittany Lions on Saturday, Farinelli was once again brilliant with eight innings of one-run baseball.
This season, the two Northwestern starters are a combined 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA.
Players Mentioned
IF/RHP
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