After Northwestern’s baseball team lost three starting pitchers to graduation, one national publication picked it to finish last in the Big Ten.

Players have seen the opinion of Baseball America’s experts, but the Wildcats (4-1) haven’t lost their confidence.

“We thought it was a slap in the face,” said senior first baseman Travis Tharp. “We’re using at as motivation for this year.”

The Cats will continue their quest to prove the prognosticators wrong this weekend when they compete in the Wiregraph Classic in Dothan, Ala. NU meets host Troy State (6-4) in the opener tonight. The team also plays Temple and Kansas State (3-1).

NU looks to improve on last week’s trip to Alabama, when it placed third at the Coca-Cola Classic. The Cats will need another strong performance from catcher Ken Padgett, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week. Padgett, last year’s team MVP, carries a .500 batting average into the tournament.

“It’s hard to have a repeat performance like that,” Padgett said of last weekend’s 8-for-11 performance, “but as long as the team wins, that’s all that matters.”

NU also is hoping for another dominating performance from junior pitcher Dan Konecny (2-0). The right-handed starter is allowing less than one run every nine innings.

But for NU to sweep, it’ll need to improve its defense. Shortstop Jon Mikrut has made eight errors in five games — including four in a game.

Despite Mikrut’s struggles, Tharp said he isn’t worried about his squad’s fielding.

“Everyone has those games,” he said. “Jon had a subpar game, but he’ll be fine.”

NU (4-1) at Wiregraph Classic

Friday, Saturday

Dothan, Ala.