Northwestern
Texas State
Wildcats Open Season in San Marcos Against Texas State
2/16/2023 6:00:00 PM | Baseball
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern baseball opens its season this weekend in San Marcos, Tex. with a three-game series against Texas State.
First pitch for opening day on Friday is set for 6 p.m. CT, while Saturday's matchup will start at 2:30 p.m. CT. The series finale is set for Sunday at noon CT.
The Wildcats are coming off a 24-27 season that saw them finish tied for eighth in the Big Ten, falling just short of qualifying for the conference tournament due to tiebreakers.
This weekend will see Jim Foster's first series as the leader of the Northwestern program, taking over the reins from Josh Reynolds who served as the team's interim Head Coach in 2022. Foster was hired after a successful stint at Army West Point where he led the Black Knights to four conference titles and four straight NCAA Tournament appearances. This past season, Foster was named the 2022 Patriot League Coach of the Year.
The 2023 version of Northwestern baseball will be quite different from last year's team, both in terms of roster makeup and play style. Foster signed 16 newcomers to this year's squad, including nine transfers. Foster also promises to emphasize an "opportunistic offense", utilizing small ball and base-stealing instead of relying on home runs and extra base hits.
There will be several new faces stepping up to the plate for the Northwestern offense after losing its top five hitters from last season and finishing ninth in the conference in batting average. Junior Vincent Bianchina (.247) is the leading returning hitter by average while senior Stephen Hrustich (.208) led returning players with 10 homeruns in 2022. Sophomore catcher Alex Calarco is also another player Foster will rely on to supply a power bat this year.
After the departure of Sean Sullivan to the transfer portal, graduate student Michael Farinelli returns to lead the pitching staff that finished 11th in the conference in team ERA. Farinelli posted a team-best 4.43 ERA across 87.1 innings pitched, including three complete games.
Prior to the season, Foster announced Bianchina, Hrustich, and junior pitcher David Utagawa as team captains.
Texas State is coming off its best season in program history, setting program records for wins (47) and conference wins (26). The Bobcats captured the 2022 Sun Belt Conference title, and advanced to the finals of the NCAA Stanford Regional. In the process, Texas State recorded the best single-season turnaround in NCAA baseball history (+24 wins).
The Bobcats are led on offense by returning senior outfielder and preseason All-Sun Belt selection Jose Gonzalez, who hit .302 with 13 home runs while recording a team high 60 RBIs. However, it's on the mound where the Bobcats excel, as they had three pitchers named to the preseason All-Sun Belt team after finishing second in the conference in team ERA (4.35) in 2022. This includes junior ace and preseason Third-Team All American Levi Wells, who posted an 8-3 record in 2022 with a 3.07 ERA and 86 strikeouts.
Michael Farinelli will get the ball on Friday for the 'Cats against Wells. Junior Matt McClure, a transfer from Loyola Marymount (3-6, 8.03 ERA), will face off against senior Zeke Wood (7-1, 3.78 ERA), another preseason all-conference selection for the Bobcats. Northwestern's starter for the Sunday finale has yet to be announced, while Texas State will roll out Houston transfer Nathan Medrano (6-4, 5.18 ERA).
