In its final home game of the season against Valparaiso on Tuesday, Northwestern picked up its 24th win in a 12-4 victory, already six more wins than last season.
Freshman right-hander Matthew Kouser started the game for the Wildcats (24-25, 12-15 Big Ten), pitching three perfect innings before heading to the dugout.
NU got off to a slow start offensively, as junior outfielder Jack Lausch was the lone NU batter to reach base in the first two innings. Lausch finished the game 4-for-4 with two extra-base hits, two RBIs and three runs.
The Beacons (8-39, 3-21 MVC) scored the game’s first run on Kevin Denty’s leadoff home run in the fourth inning. After giving up a homer to his first batter faced, junior right-hander Amar Tsengeg pitched 2.1 innings without allowing another run.
The ’Cats entered the game one home run short of the program record for single-season home runs with 65. In the bottom of the fourth inning, sophomore outfielder Jackson Freeman tied the mark with a two-run shot to right field to put NU on the board and take the lead.
Two at-bats later, Lausch launched a homer to the same part of the outfield, setting a new single-season program home run record at 67 and extending the ’Cats’ lead to 3-1.
“We came out a little bit flat,” coach Ben Greenspan said. “I was proud that we turned it on after those first few innings.”
Neither team scored again until the bottom of the sixth inning, as NU added three runs for a 6-1 lead. Valparaiso scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning on freshman right-hander Jack Grunkemeyer to cut the deficit to 6-4. At that juncture, freshman left-hander Christian Forniss checked into the game, recording four strikeouts while allowing five hits and no earned runs in three innings pitched.
Graduate student utility player Tyler Ganus and graduate student infielder Jacob Hand responded with RBIs for the ’Cats, pushing their lead to 8-4 entering the eighth inning.
Leading off in the bottom of the eighth, junior infielder Owen McElfatrick extended NU’s lead to 9-4 with his ninth home run of the season. Lausch and Ganus added RBIs, their second and third of the game, respectively, and the ’Cats closed out the inning with a 12-4 lead.
Forniss finished the game with a two-strikeout ninth inning, earning his first collegiate save.
The ’Cats won their home season finale for the first time since 2021 — the first for many graduating players, including senior catcher Bennett Markinson.
“I love this school, I love this place and I wanted to leave it in a better spot than I found it,” Markinson said. “I’m so proud to be a part of the group that’s helping change the culture and the image of Northwestern baseball.”
NU travels to UCLA this weekend for its final series of the regular season. Markinson, one of eight ’Cats players from Southern California, said the weekend will be a full circle moment as he returns to his home state of California after growing up attending camps and games at UCLA.
Greenspan said the team understands the stakes and excitement of the series, with postseason implications and as a homecoming for many. In Greenspan’s second season, the ’Cats have improved from four conference wins in 2024 to being in the Big Ten tournament race this year.
“We have a big challenge in front of us but the team hasn’t backed away from a challenge yet,” Greenspan said. “It’s been a resilient group.”
The ’Cats are currently in a three-way tie for 11th place in the Big Ten but sit in 13th place due to tiebreakers. Twelve teams make the Big Ten Tournament, and NU is fighting for its first Big Ten Tournament berth since 2017.
“We have a real good chance to do something this program hasn’t done in a while and make the Big Ten Tournament,” Markinson said. “We’re right on the cusp.”
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