Northwestern
4-21, 2-3
Illinois
13-14, 3-5
Northwestern Drops Game Two to Illinois
4/8/2023 5:10:00 PM | Baseball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Northwestern Wildcats got three hits from senior Evan Minarovic, but dropped game two 7-2 to the Illinois Fighting Illini Saturday.
Michael Farinelli (1-5) started and took the loss on the mound for Northwestern (4-21, 2-3). Sam Garewal was strong out of the bullpen, going 4.1 innings, surrendering three runs, one earned, on three hits, walking two and striking out five.
Minarovic's three-hit day led the Wildcats offensively. Sophomore Alex Calarco continued his production as well, going 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Senior Stephen Hrustich also helped out for Northwestern, adding an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois had all the offense through the early and middle innings. They scored one run in the first, two in the third and one in the fourth to put together a 4-0 lead heading into the sixth. Northwestern got on the board in that frame thanks to Calarco's RBI double, cutting the Illini lead to three.
The Wildcats kept Illinois off the board before narrowing the gap further in the eighth. Northwestern scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Hrustich, which tightened the Fighting Illini lead to 4-2. The Wildcats were unable to get any closer, however, as Illinois added three runs to their tally on the way to a 7-2 final.
GAME NOTES
» Minarovic's three-hit game was the second of his career. He first achieved the feat in 2021 against Penn State.
» Hrustich extended his hitting streak to a team-high 11 games. The streak is the longest of his collegiate career.
» Owen McElfatrick tallied two singles, good for his sixth multi-hit game of the season.
» Northwestern pitchers faced 41 Illinois hitters in the game, allowing 14 ground balls and two fly balls while striking out eight.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Swartz, Jake (1-1)
L: Farinelli, Michael (1-5)
S: Bunselmeyer, Korey (1)
Batting:
2B: Doligale, Danny 1 ; Hejza, Cal 1
RBI: Doligale, Danny 2 ; Moerman, Ryan 1 ; McDonald, Cam 2
SH: Doligale, Danny 1 ; Harding, Brody 2
SF: Moerman, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Doligale, Danny 1 ; Moerman, Ryan 2 ; Comia, Branden 1 ; Janik, Camden 1 ; Hejza, Cal 2
HBP: Moerman, Ryan 1 ; Comia, Branden 1
Batting:
2B: Calarco, Alex 1
RBI: Calarco, Alex 1 ; Hrustich, Stephen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Minarovic, Evan 1 ; Roessner, Alex 1
SB: Minarovic, Evan 1
CS: McElfatrick, Owen 1
HBP: McElfatrick, Owen 1
