For all the fight Northwestern put up against Michigan last weekend, the Wildcats bowed out of Big Ten Tournament contention with barely a whimper Friday.
“It was very disappointing,” sophomore pitcher Luke Farrell said. “When you look back at our Big Ten series, you see a lot of close games, a lot of close losses, times when we could have put teams away and we just didn’t.”
The Cats needed to win at least two games against the Spartans to even stand a chance at making the postseason. Instead, they dropped two consecutive games to ensure there would be no repeat of last year’s heroics, when the Cats clinched a tournament berth on a walk-off home run.
It was a lack of offense that ultimately doomed the Cats’ playoff chances, as they combined for just one run on six hits in the first two games of the series.
Michigan State right-hander Tony Bucciferro surrendered one earned run over nine innings Friday, striking out nine and walking just one batter to record his eighth win of the season.
He polished off his complete-game effort in style, striking out the side in the top of the ninth to secure the victory.
Bucciferro’s powerful performance overshadowed a fine start from junior hurler Michael Jahns, who pitched into the eighth inning for the Cats. While Jahns kept NU in the game for a long time, he finally cracked in the eighth, giving up the first four runs in what ultimately turned into a six-run frame for the Spartans.
Although they were eliminated from the playoffs following Friday’s loss, the Cats’ three seniors ensured there would be no letdown in effort Saturday, with an emotional speech to their teammates before the game.
The appeal helped lift NU to a 6-5 victory that kept Michigan State from earning sole possession of the Big Ten regular-season championship.
“The biggest thing was our team never gives up, and we proved that on Saturday, ” Farrell said. “Our goal at that point was to give our seniors just a great last day for playing in a Northwestern uniform and then to spoil Michigan State’s chances at being in sole possession of first place.”
The Cats achieved both.
After cruising through the first five innings, senior southpaw Matt Gailey was unable to record a single out in the sixth, surrendering three hits and two walks before getting pulled in favor of freshman reliever Jack Quigley.
Quigley limited the damage by inducing a double-play grounder, but the Spartans still led 5-4 after six innings.
The Cats clawed their way back with two runs in the seventh on a sacrifice bunt by junior designated hitter Paul Snieder and an RBI double by Havey, his third two-bagger of the afternoon.
And freshman reliever Kyle Ruchim ensured the lead would stick, tossing three scoreless innings to seal the season-ending victory.
“It’s awesome to see him come in after playing whether it be second or center field, and he comes in and throws three shutout innings against the best offense in the Big Ten,” Farrell said. “He’s talented in a lot of different ways.”
With a playoff spot no longer on the line Saturday, reserve Brant Cavagnaro got the start in left field and combined with senior third baseman Chris Lashmet to drive in two of the Cats’ six runs.
“The one guy that was inserted was B.C.,” coach Paul Stevens said. “He’s grown up an awful lot. He’s come a long way in his time at Northwestern. I was very proud of the way he has handled himself and the way that he contributed Saturday. It’s something that he’ll remember for a long time.”
Still, happy memories aside, it was not the ending that any of them were looking for entering the weekend series.
