Northwestern
5-4
#17 Duke
6-5
'Cats Come up Short in 6-5 Loss at No. 17 Duke
3/1/2025 5:01:00 PM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. – Northwestern's late rally came up just short in a 6-5 loss at No. 17 Duke on Saturday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.
Northwestern (5-4) got on the board in the top of the first with a two-run home run off the bat of OF Jackson Freeman, scoring OF Preston Knott to take a 2-0 lead.
Duke (6-5) responded quickly in the bottom of the first with a solo home run of their own by INF Ben Miller to cut the Wildcat lead to one.BOOM??@Jacksonrfreeman gets us started with a two-run bomb to right! pic.twitter.com/Nkav6yKu0M
— Northwestern Baseball (@NUCatsBaseball) March 1, 2025
Northwestern's offense continued where it left off in the top of the second. After OF Jack Lausch reached on a single, Knott slammed a deep drive down the right-field line to give the Wildcats a 4-1 lead.
The Blue Devils added a pair on a two-run double in the fifth by INF Jake Berger to trim the NU lead to 4-3. A two-run single in the bottom of the seventh by Miller put Duke in front, and the Blue Devils added an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI single by C Andrew Yu.KNOTT A DOUBT ABOUT IT ??@Pknott_4 crushes a two-run shot down the right-field line to add on early! pic.twitter.com/y6GmtWZWwo
— Northwestern Baseball (@NUCatsBaseball) March 1, 2025
The Wildcats rallied in the top of the ninth, starting with a single from INF Jack Counsell. After advancing on a groundout by Knott, Counsell came around to score on a base hit by INF Owen McElfatrick. Freeman drew a walk to move McElfatrick into scoring position and put the go-ahead run on base, and both base runners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch before Duke closed out the game with a strikeout.
RHP Matthew Kouser got the start for the Wildcats and continued his impressive start to his young career, allowing three runs on four hits in 5.0 innings, walking three and striking out a pair.
RHP Sam Hliboki is credited with the loss, allowing three runs on five hits, walking one and striking out two.
Sunday's series finale is set for 12 p.m. CT on ACCNX.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Easterly, Reid (1-0)
L: Hliboki, Sam (0-1)
S: Proksch, Owen (1)
Batting:
2B: Knott, Preston 1
HR: Knott, Preston 1 ; Freeman, Jackson 1
RBI: Knott, Preston 2 ; McElfatrick, Owen 1 ; Freeman, Jackson 2
SH: Lausch, Jack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Knott, Preston 2 ; Freeman, Jackson 1 ; Lausch, Jack 1 ; Counsell, Jack 1
Batting:
2B: Clark, Wallace 1 ; Berger, Jake 2 ; Hyde, Jake 1
HR: Miller, Ben 1
RBI: Berger, Jake 2 ; Miller, Ben 3 ; Yu, Andrew 1
SH: Clark, Wallace 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Clark, Wallace 1 ; Miller, Ben 1 ; Hyde, Jake 1 ; Winslow, Macon 2 ; Troch, Adam 1
HBP: Evans, Jimmy 1
