No matter the sport or the importance of the game, every team wants to be the first on the scoreboard. As the away team against Santa Clara this weekend, Northwestern was handed this opportunity on a silver platter.

NU (1-7-0, 0-0 Big Ten) made the most of this chance to strike first, doing so in each of the four contests. However, Santa Clara (4-4, 0-0 West Coast) spoiled these early leads in three of the four matchups, as the Cats were only able to capture one win in the four-game series.

Even with these unwanted results, there was a positive to come out of the disappointment — the program secured its first victory of the season alongside Josh Reynolds first as the Wildcats’ head coach. 

After a two-out rally in the first inning Friday that amounted to two runs off a center field error, senior ace Mike Doherty struggled to shut down the Broncos, allowing four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Unable to cross the plate in the second to cut Santa Clara’s lead down, the Cats couldn’t get a hit or score in the second. To make matters worse, NU would continue its hitless and scoreless streak until the eighth inning.

This offensive drought allowed the Broncos to continue their reign of terror on the Cats, picking up six more runs against Doherty by the end of the fourth inning. NU handed the keys off to junior pitcher Jack Dyke, who eventually gave up zero runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth inning. Before Dyke’s smooth sailing, though, the right-hander allowed two runs in his first inning of work — the fifth.

Although the Cats were finally able to slow down the Broncos after the fifth, the 12-run damage was already done. NU found the run column once again in the eighth with a double from graduate outfielder Ruben Fontes followed by a senior Tommy D’Alise bomb, but couldn’t do the unimaginable, dropping the Friday contest 12-4.

Getting a good night’s rest and turning over on the right side of the bed, though, NU bounced back in the first of the two games Saturday.

Freshman pitcher Sean Sullivan received the nod for game two, and followed up his impressive three-inning, six-strikeout and one-run performance against UAB last weekend with a better one this time around. The young arm diced up Santa Clara, allowing zero runs over six innings. Helping the kid out, the offense completed their assignment as well, notching four runs in both the first and second innings. The madness began with senior first baseman Anthony Calarco’s walk, setting up five of the six next batters to get on base, four of them by hits, leading to the early lead.

The Cats’ second time at the plate was started by another walk by Fontes. From there, a Calarco single, sophomore right fielder Jay Beshears reaching on an error, sophomore second baseman Vincent Bianchina’s double and a D’Alise triple, led to another four-run inning by NU.

Adding two more runs later on in the game and the closeout by junior Coby Moe, letting up zero runs in the last third of the contest, the Cats received their first win of the season, 10-0, in decisive fashion.

Looking to keep the momentum going in the latter contest, NU’s steam ran out, while the Broncos kicked it back into high gear.

Coach Reynolds’ decision to move Fontes up in the batting order to the leadoff spot continued to reap benefits, as the right fielder sent one deep, not to his position, but over center field wall, giving the Cats a 1-0 lead.

This didn’t last long, though, as the Broncos strung together two doubles and two singles resulting in a three-run first. Similar to game one, NU would go silent until the sixth inning, while Santa Clara would add two more runs to its lead by the sixth. From there, both teams would cross the plate twice during that inning, the last time the Cats would do so in the contest. On the other hand, the Broncos would score three more times, resulting in a 10-3 final outcome. 

Sunday’s contest proved no different for either team, as the Cats secured the lead in the first inning off freshman catcher Bennett Markinson’s home run to left field. 

The Cats and sophomore pitcher Kellen Pate allowed no runs in the first or second, holding onto their lead, but Broncos touched home seven times before the games’ end, scoring every inning except the eighth and the two to start the game. NU, on the other hand, didn’t score again until the last inning, leading to a 7-2 loss to end the weekend.

Although the Cats won’t face its first Big Ten opponent until April 1 the group sits at the bottom of the conference record-wise, having been outscored by 26 runs with a team ERA of 7.67. 

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