After suffering its second consecutive series sweep this past weekend, Northwestern hosted Milwaukee for a lone matinee matchup Tuesday — and scored a much needed victory.

The Wildcats (7-28, 3-9 Big Ten) returned to the win column in a major way, cruising past the Panthers (19-18, 9-8 Horizon) 10-0, in a matchup NU dominated on the bump and in the batters box.

After being outscored 58-19 in its past two weekend series, NU needed to race out to an early start Tuesday. The Cats’ momentum ignited in the bottom of the second inning with bases loaded and no outs. Senior outfielder Luke Tanner’s two-run double and senior infielder Evan Minarovic’s RBI single propelled NU toward a five-run inning doused with six hits.

The Cats extended their lead in subsequent innings, largely because of Minarovic, who led the team in RBI’s in the matchup. NU’s No. 2 hitter extended the Cats lead to 7-0 in the sixth inning, driving in two runs with a single to center field. A few innings later, NU kept up its offensive onslaught, scoring runs off sophomore infielder Alex Calarco’s RBI double and graduate student outfielder Kevin Ferrer’s two-run single.

The Cats’ pitching staff struggles have been no secret this season. Entering Tuesday’s contest, NU pitchers had a Big Ten worst 9.31 ERA. Nonetheless, the Cats’ early 5-0 lead enabled the pitching staff to settle in. Four NU pitchers combined to pitch the team’s first shutout of the season, allowing just two hits and no walks.

Junior right-hander Ben Grable started on the bump for NU, tossing two-and-two-thirds scoreless frames, striking out five Milwaukee hitters and giving up only one hit.

The Cats’ pitching staff did not allow a hit over the next three innings, due in part to a pair of excellent performances from left-handed relievers junior Nolan Morr and graduate student Ryan Keenan. The two combined to pitch three-and-one-third hitless innings, ensuring that the coast was clear for an NU offensive monsoon. Senior right-hander Jack Dyke cemented the Cats dominant pitching performance, pitching two scoreless innings.

But, excelling offensively and on the bump was not enough for the Cats, who also put together an errorless fielding performance and stole four bases. These contributed to a run scored in the eighth. Without hitting a single home run, NU took advantage of the stolen bases and 14 total hits that resulted in a 10-run performance. Eight NU hitters each recorded a hit, with five players picking up two or more on the day.

While NU found success in its non-conference matchup last week against Northern Illinois as well, the team can’t overlook the back-to-back series losses they’ve taken. The Cats must take full advantage of the momentum they built from this Tuesday’s matchup and win a pivotal weekend conference series against Michigan State to avoid falling to the bottom of the Big Ten standings. This weekend presents the Cats with an opportunity to turn the tables.

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