Northwestern couldn’t muster any offense against Michigan State Thursday, and with one more loss, will be eliminated from Big Ten Tournament contention.
Sophomore hurler Luke Farrell pitched well in what will likely be his final start of the season, surrendering just one earned run in eight innings of work. Yet, despite his impressive performance against one of the top-hitting teams in the conference, he was still saddled with the loss.
Farrell was hurt by a shaky start, as he hit the first batter he faced and then surrendered a single to second baseman Ryan Jones. With runners on first and third and no outs, Spartans first baseman Jeff Holm gave Michigan State a 1-0 lead with a RBI groundout.
The Spartans added two unearned runs in the third, after a ground ball got by sophomore first baseman Jack Havey. Instead of serving as the final out of the inning, the grounder served as a catalyst. One run scored on the muffed grounder itself, and another scored on a wild pitch to the next batter, giving Michigan State a 3-0 lead. That would prove to be more than enough.
Even if Farrell had pitched perfectly, and the defense behind him played flawlessly as well, he still would have struggled to get a win the way NU struggled at the plate. The Wildcats were unable to figure out Spartans’ starter Kurt Wunderlich, notching just three hits off the right-hander in his nine innings of work. Wunderlich faced 29 batters on his way to a complete-game shutout, just two above the minimum.
NU will be mathematically eliminated if it loses again, and even if they win their next two games, the Cats will still need a lot of help to make the tournament.
If NU wins Friday and Saturday against Michigan State, it will make the Big Ten Tournament if two of the following three scenarios occur:
- Illinois completes a sweep of Indiana, with wins on Friday and Saturday.
- Minnesota completes a sweep of Ohio State, with wins on Friday and Saturday.
- Michigan salvages its series against Penn State, with wins on Friday and Saturday.
The Cats can thank the Golden Gophers and Fighting Illini for the fact that they are still alive, but all the speculation will mean nothing if NU can’t win its last two games of the season. Those two wins will likely have to come without Farrell’s help, as the sophomore ace has already taken his turn in the rotation.
