The rain just wouldn’t leave the Wildcats alone.
Bad weather had already caused the cancellation of three non-conference games and the postponement of two Big Ten games at Rocky Miller Park this season, but it had yet to force the cancellation of a conference game.
That changed Sunday, as the series finale between Northwestern and Michigan was rained out, ruining the Cats’ bid for a three-game sweep of the Wolverines.
“Really, our main goal this weekend was to sweep,” sophomore pitcher Luke Farrell said. “And to be honest, it sucks that we could have gone out there today and had a chance to finish what we started.”
Ironically, Sunday’s rain followed Evanston’s best weather of the year. For the first time all season, the Cats were able to fit two non-conference games in between the clouds, and the benefit was tangible according to coach Paul Stevens.
“It was something that gave them a lot of confidence, as a whole, because we got a lot of other guys opportunities to play,” Stevens said. “It created a little bit of a stronger energy in the dugout, because it wasn’t just nine or 10 guys getting the chance to play on weekends, it was everybody from one end of the bench to the other almost getting an opportunity all week to play.”
But all 26 players sat idle on Sunday, while the two teams directly ahead of them in the Big Ten standings, Penn State and Indiana, both won to pick up a half-game on NU.
The Cats need every win they can get if they are to successfully complete their quest to make the Big Ten Tournament. Only the top six teams make postseason play, and NU is currently in eighth place, a full two games out of a playoff spot.
In past years, Sunday’s game might have been postponed until Monday, but current conference rules forbid a three-game road trip from lasting any longer than 72 hours, and so the Wolverines were forced to head back to Ann Arbor before a game could be played on Monday.
The more puzzling question, however, is why the Cats were unable to play on Sunday. While the weather in Evanston was unpleasant, a mixture of light rain, mist and cold, it certainly seemed like NU would be able to fit in a game. That’s what Stevens thought anyway when he arrived at Rocky Miller Park at 7:30 a.m., eagerly anticipating Sunday’s contest. Junior first baseman Paul Snieder said he and his teammates were ready as well.
“We’re all there,” Snieder said. “We were ready to play but sometimes the weather doesn’t want to cooperate with us.”
Ultimately, the uncooperative weather did more than ruin a crucial game in the midst of a pennant chase. It also put the kibosh on the Cats’ Senior Day plans.
“I feel bad about them in that regard but we still hopefully have a lot of baseball left to play,” Farrell said. “They’re a huge part of our team. They’re a huge part of our family. Those three guys are going to be some of the best friends that a lot of us have in our lives and we’re going to miss them next year.”
In the absence of the actual baseball game, however, NU was still able to enjoy its team banquet the night before, and on Sunday, the Cats were able to have a little fun with the rain, playing a game of slip and slide on the wet tarp.
“You know what I think of these players, they’re like my sons, so we had that emotional, wrenching scenario last night,” Stevens said. “It’s not exactly what all of us wanted to see happening on that field today but it was a time to sit around and joke and smile and take in a great memory.”
Fittingly, it was senior third baseman Chris Lashmet who had the greatest slide, even if it was on the tarp, not the field.
“He had the most momentum going through the water,” Farrell said. “Full out sprint and find the biggest puddle you can and try to get through it with as much distance as possible.”
