Baseball

A season of mixed results persisted Tuesday when Northwestern (22-26, 8-13 Big Ten) concluded its four game home-stand with a lone Tuesday matinee matchup against No. 14 Notre Dame (32-11). The Wildcats dropped the game 14-4 and never held the lead. NU’s pitching struggled throughout the contest, allowing a total of sixteen hits. 

The Cats trailed from the onset, as Notre Dame scored four runs in the top of the second courtesy of a trio of RBI singles. The Fighting Irish added three more runs in the following inning as a result of a pair of RBI doubles. 

NU chipped away at the deficit, plating a run courtesy of graduate student outfielder Ruben Fontes’ RBI single. The knock was one of two Fontes had in the game. 

However, Notre Dame kept adding to the scoreboard. The Fighting Irish scored four more runs in the top of the fourth, extending its lead 11-1. Senior first baseman Anthony Calaraco’s RBI double and sophomore second baseman Jay Beshears’ RBI groundout helped NU cut the deficit down to 11-3 by the end of the fourth inning.

Unfortunately for NU, Notre Dame scored for the fourth consecutive inning, adding two more runs in the fifth inning. Once again, the Cats matched the Fighting Irish’s tally, plating across a run in the bottom half of the frame courtesy of sophomore shortstop Tony Livermore’s RBI single. 

First-year right hander Jacob Scharm’s appearance in the sixth snapped Notre Dame’s four inning streak of scoring multiple runs. Schwarm pitched a scoreless sixth inning, just the second time all game for the Cats. The Fighting Irish extended its lead in the seventh, eventually winning 14-4. 

The fourteen runs NU allowed on Tuesday tied for the third highest it has given up all year. The Cats will hope to achieve better results as it travels to Minnesota (15-34, 5-16 Big Ten) starting Thursday for a three-game set to close out the 2022 regular season. 

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