The Northwestern baseball team played 49 hard-fought games to qualify for the Big Ten tournament.

And in the blink of an eye, its postseason was over.

The Wildcats (30-27) lasted just one day in the conference tournament at Minneapolis. Sixth-seeded NU fell to No. 1 seed Minnesota 8-4 Thursday in its first-round game. Then No. 5 seed Ohio State (36-22) made quick work of the Cats later in the day, winning 4-2 in just 1 hour, 37 minutes — the shortest game in Big Ten tournament history.

Needing a win against Ohio State to keep its season alive, NU struggled to turn hits into runs against Buckeyes starter E.J. Laratta. Laratta scattered nine hits in a complete-game win and bounced the Cats out of the double-elimination tournament.

“Some of those balls we hit hard but right at people,” coach Paul Stevens said of both games.

Centerfielder Kris Musselman, who went 3-for-6 in the final games of his NU career, added: “Quite a few guys hit the ball hard and ended up with nothing to show for it. Just another inch and it’s a base hit. Instead it’s an out.”

Rain postponed NU’s matchup with Minnesota (37-20) until 3:30 p.m. Thursday, but the Golden Gophers didn’t show any signs of rust.

Minnesota’s offense used the long ball against NU starter Zach Schara to power its way into the second round, taking advantage of costly errors and a hitter-friendly wind.

Schara (8-5) allowed four Gophers home runs — two more than he had allowed in 99 2/3 innings pitched prior to Thursday’s game. Minnesota designated hitter Luke Appert went deep twice and finished with four RBIs. Appert’s two-run shot in the third inning broke the game open.

“I’m not going to blame anything on the wind,” Schara said. “I wasn’t in my total groove (Thursday). I give them credit for capitalizing on the mistakes I made.”

A pair of fielding errors put Schara’s back against the wall early as Minnesota converted the miscues into runs.

The Gophers loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, and the Cats botched a double play that would have ended the inning, allowing a run to score. Schara then conceded an RBI single to catcher Jeremy Negen to give the Gophers a 2-1 lead.

With two outs in the following inning, a costly NU error again kept the inning alive for Minnesota. Instead of escaping the inning unscathed, Schara gave up the two-run homer to Appert and Minnesota took a 4-1 lead.

The Cats rallied in the top of the fifth. Outfielder Bob Dainton’s two-RBI double made the score 5-4 Minnesota, but the Gophers would homer twice more to seal the game.

Minnesota starter Mike Kobow pitched a complete game, scattering nine NU hits and settling down in the late innings to squash any hope of a rally by the Cats.

“I got in a jam in the beginning of the game,” Kobow said. “I just had to overcome that, and when I did I cruised the rest of the way.”

Even so, NU coach Paul Stevens said his team “battled and never gave up.”

But the loss meant NU had to come back to Siebert Filed at 7 p.m. to face Ohio State in the losers bracket. The Buckeyes were looking for revenge after falling 8-7 to Penn State Wednesday on a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth.

And Ohio State got its revenge behind Laratta’s pitching and a few clutch hits.

Buckeyes shortstop Trent McIlvaine scored three times — twice on RBI singles by teammates Mike Check and Jason Driscoll and once on a Check sacrifice fly — and rightfielder Jason Turner hit a solo shot in the fourth to account for all the offense.

The Cats stalled with runners on base. Second baseman J.P. Williamson scored from third on a double play ball in the top of the fourth, but NU would not cross the plate again until shortstop Jeremy Kurella’s RBI single in the eighth.

NU starter Gabe Ribas threw a complete game but picked up the tough loss.

“He had maybe two mistakes all day, ” Stevens said. “They happened to make a few good plays.”

The season is now over for NU. Stevens said the team built “a tremendous amount of character” in making it to the postseason.

“We had our ups and we had our downs,” Schara said. “When we had our backs against the wall, that’s the time we stepped up and proved ourselves.”