Northwestern
2-17
NIU
5-18
'Cats Win Home Opener Against Northern Illinois
3/28/2023 7:27:00 PM | Baseball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Northwestern Wildcats broke through after a 10-10 tie in the seventh inning to defeat the Northern Illinois Huskies 15-11 Tuesday in their home opener at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park.
Home Opener ??
— Northwestern Baseball (@NUCatsBaseball) March 29, 2023
Eighth inning rally propels Northwestern past NIU in the 2023 home opener ?? pic.twitter.com/d8DbbFsnTQ
Junior Nolan Morr (1-1) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Northwestern (2-17). The southpaw went one inning, giving up one run on one hit.
At the plate, the Wildcats were paced by senior Luke Tanner, who went 4-for-5 on the day with three doubles, a home run and four RBI. Sophomore Alex Calarco furnished a standout performance at the plate as well, going 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBI. Sophomore Alex Roessner also helped out for Northwestern, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate while adding a home run and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Northwestern got an RBI single from Calarco, scoring Griffin Arnone from third base.
The Huskies failed to push any runs across before the Wildcats offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Northwestern hit two home runs in the inning on the way to pushing seven runs across, which brought the Wildcats lead to 8-0.
Northern Illinois narrowed Northwestern's lead to 8-7 before the Wildcats stretched the advantage to 10-7 in the fourth inning. The Wildcats recorded two runs off of Northern Illinois pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double from Tanner.
Northwestern surrendered the lead they built in the fourth, but got back on the scoreboard in the eighth trailing 11-10. The Wildcats scored five runs in the inning, highlighted by a one-run single off the bat of Arnone, bringing the Northwestern advantage to 15-11. The score remained 15-11 for the rest of the game, as the Wildcats coasted to the win.
GAME NOTES
» Every Northwestern starter reached base safely in the win.
» Six Wildcats had multiple hits in the ballgame, including two with three-hit games and one with a four-hit game.
» The Wildcats had a total of 18 hits, a season high.
» Northwestern went 8-for-18 (.444) with runners in scoring position.
» Northwestern pitchers faced 45 Northern Illinois hitters in the game, allowing 13 ground balls and five fly balls while striking out five.
» Tanner led the Wildcats at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three doubles, a home run and four RBI.
» Northwestern's 15 runs were their most in a home opener since 1999, when they put up 20 against Notre Dame.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Morr, Nolan (1-1)
L: BONK, Nick (0-2)
Batting:
2B: SMART, Andrew 1
3B: THIERRY, Tyler 1
HR: SUMMERHILL, Colin 1
RBI: ERATO, Eric 1 ; HARPER, Aaron 2 ; SUMMERHILL, Colin 4 ; THIERRY, Tyler 1 ; SMART, Andrew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ERATO, Eric 2 ; DEMETRAL, Andre 2 ; HARPER, Aaron 1 ; SUMMERHILL, Colin 2 ; THIERRY, Tyler 1 ; SMART, Andrew 1 ; NELSON, Jake 1 ; PETERS, Malik 1
SB: ERATO, Eric 2
CS: HARPER, Aaron 1 ; SUMMERHILL, Colin 1
HBP: SUMMERHILL, Colin 1
Batting:
2B: Arnone, Griffin 1 ; McElfatrick, Owen 1 ; Calarco, Alex 1 ; Elko, Michael 1 ; Tanner, Luke 3
HR: Roessner, Alex 1 ; Tanner, Luke 1
RBI: Arnone, Griffin 1 ; McElfatrick, Owen 1 ; Calarco, Alex 2 ; Liolios, Trent 1 ; Markinson, Bennett 1 ; Roessner, Alex 1 ; Tanner, Luke 4 ; Livermore, Tony 1
SH: Livermore, Tony 1
SF: Markinson, Bennett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Arnone, Griffin 2 ; McElfatrick, Owen 1 ; Calarco, Alex 2 ; Liolios, Trent 1 ; Markinson, Bennett 1 ; Roessner, Alex 2 ; Elko, Michael 2 ; Tanner, Luke 3 ; Livermore, Tony 1
SB: Arnone, Griffin 1 ; Elko, Michael 1 ; Livermore, Tony 1
CS: Arnone, Griffin 1
