Northwestern
Butler
'Cats Host Bulldogs in Midweek Tilt
4/28/2025 3:16:00 PM | Baseball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern will wrap up its five-game homestand with a midweek matchup against Butler on Tuesday, April 29 at 3:30 p.m. CT at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park.
Northwestern (19-22, 9-12 Big Ten) defeated Washington 10-4 in Sunday's series finale at Miller Park behind productive offense and solid pitching. Northwestern eclipsed the double-digit mark for the sixth time in 21 Big Ten games, its most games with 10+ runs in conference play since 2021 and most in a standard season since 2008.
Ryan Kucherak went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run, a double, two RBI, and two runs scored. Kucherak's home run marked his Big Ten-best 10th home run of conference play and 12th of the season. The LSU transfer has recorded an RBI in eight of his last nine games and has homered in three of his last four.
With his 12th home run of the season, Kucherak joins Liolios as the only Wildcat teammates to hit 12 home runs each in the same season since 1992 (Matt Huff and Todd Venezio). Kucherak and Liolios are also the only two Big Ten teammates with 9+ home runs in conference play.
LHP Christian Forniss started off Sunday's game with 3.0 shutout innings, allowing one hit, walking two, and striking out one. RHP Matthew Kouser (4-4) tossed 2.1 innings, surrendering three runs on three hits and four walks, striking out two. LHP Crawford Wade earned his third save of the season in 3.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits, walking two, and fanning four.
Over three games against Washington, 2B Jacob Hand went 3-for-7 with a walk and a hit by pitch, and led all Wildcats with four RBI on the weekend.
Against the Huskies, RF Jackson Freeman reached base at a team-best .538 clip, going 4-for-10 with three walks, a double and a triple.
The 'Cats are 8-4 in one-run games this season, their most one-run wins since 2017 (8). The Wildcats are also an unblemished 4-0 in extra-inning affairs this season.
NU ranks third in the Big Ten and 31st nationally in fielding percentage (.978). In 2024, Northwestern led the Big Ten and ranked 10th nationally in fielding percentage (.980).
Butler (14-23, 3-9 BIG EAST) ranks third in the BIG EAST in batting average (.289), third in home runs (52), and ranks second in slugging percentage (.471). OF Jack Moroknek leads the Bulldogs with a .394 batting average, 15 home runs, and 47 runs batted in.
This weekend, the Wildcats will travel to West Lafayette for a three-game series at Purdue. First pitch on Friday, May 2 is set for 5 p.m. CT. Saturday's game is slated for 1 p.m. CT, and Sunday's game is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.
