After two years of letting the University of Chicago best them on the diamond, Northwestern put its South Side rival back in its place Tuesday.

Behind senior starter Dan Tyson, the Wildcats (14-31) defeated the Maroons (9-25) 2-1 at Rocky Miller Park.

Division III Chicago had defeated NU in each of the past two seasons, and Tyson said the Cats were happy to get a little revenge.

“You always want to come out and beat them,” he said. “Especially because they’re in Chicago, and we want to be the best team in Chicago. So it was good to come out and win today.”

Tyson was the game’s star, hurling 8.1 innings, allowing only a run and striking out a career-high seven batters.

Chicago rarely threatened but did put runners on third in each of the last two innings.

With two outs in the eighth, Maroons cleanup hitter Ricky Troncelliti stepped to the plate. But Tyson reared back and fired three strikes, the third one tipped into the catcher’s glove, ending the threat.

“When I’m pitching I try to go by the ideology that I don’t look at who’s hitting,” Tyson said. “I just throw my pitch to my spot and try to do what’s going to get the job done. I try to just block everything else out and focus on the hitter.”

Tyson eventually exited the game with one out in the ninth and runners on the corners. Senior Jack Quigley came out of the bullpen to induce an RBI groundout, then end the game on a strikeout.

Tyson’s dominance was timely for NU, as Chicago starter Alex Terry limited NU all afternoon. The Cats put the ball in play but couldn’t find holes, and Terry limited them to six hits in seven-plus innings.

The Cats’ first run scored in the fifth inning when sophomore Jake Schieber bunted for a base hit, stole second and scored on a single from senior Nick Linne.

Down 1-0, Terry exited after allowing a double to junior Walker Moses to lead off the bottom of the eighth. Two batters later, Moses scored on a single from freshman Matt Hopfner through a drawn-in infield.

The pitchers’ duel was over in under two hours, leaving NU coach Paul Stevens a happy camper.

“(Tyson) threw strikes. We made plays. We got hits,” Stevens said. “What else can you ask for? It was a clean afternoon.”

The Cats return to action Wednesday at Illinois-Chicago. The teams will play at the brand-new Curtis Granderson Stadium, named after the New York Mets outfielder and UIC alumnus.

Stevens said he’s heard the park is “absolutely phenomenal.”

“I haven’t seen it,” he said. “But everybody that’s told me, their mouth goes open.”

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