Baseball

A pair of midweek matchups dwindled into just one game for Northwestern (8-19, 2-1 Big Ten), when the Wildcats’ Wednesday contest against Western Michigan (10-13, 3-3 MAC) was cancelled despite ideal weather conditions.

The cancellation was due to the rented field in Chicago becoming unavailable at the last minute, the Northwestern athletic department told The Daily in an email. The game was unable to be rescheduled anywhere outside of Chicago due to restrictions imposed by players’ class schedules.

The matchup was originally scheduled to be played at Rocky Miller Park as NU’s home opener, but had to be moved due to ongoing renovations in the stadium.

Despite the scheduling hiccup, the Cats made the most of their abbreviated midweek slate by beating Chicago State (7-19, 1-4 WAC) on Tuesday, 7-2.

Leadoff man and centerfielder Kyle Ruchim starred for NU, turning five at-bats into a home run, a triple, two RBI and 2 runs. Catcher Scott Heelan had the only other extra-base hit for the Cats, with the team relying on a parade of singles and sacrifices to score the majority of its runs.

NU also benefited from a strong bullpen performance. Starting pitcher Justin Yoss was credited with the win but gave up four hits, two walks and 2 earned runs in just three innings of work. Fortunately for the Cats, relievers Jake Stolley, Grant Peikert and Joe Hoscheit held the Cougars scoreless in a combined six innings of work.

Following the win, the team is set to face Illinois in a three-game series over the weekend. Those contests were also originally scheduled to be played at Rocky Miller Park, but will now be played in Champaign, Illinois.

NU’s first home game will not be until March 21 against Milwaukee, barring further schedule changes.

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