Northwestern was never going to pull off any upsets against No. 5 Georgia Tech if it didn’t get its pitching in line.
Facing the top offense in the country by batting average, the Wildcats’ (5-5, 0-0 Big Ten) arms couldn’t contain the Yellow Jackets (11-1, 0-0 ACC), as they got swept in a three-game series Friday to Sunday.
After junior shortstop Ryan Kucherak blasted a two-run first-inning home run to take an early lead in Friday’s 17-3 run-rule defeat, graduate student right-hander Sam Hliboki couldn’t even make it through two innings as he gave up nine runs.
While NU’s offense delivered eight hits and three runs in three innings, it never led in Saturday’s 13-3 run-rule loss as graduate student left-hander Ryan Weaver and freshman left-hander Jake Rifenburg allowed 10 runs in three frames.
Despite the ’Cats jumping ahead by four runs in the first inning Sunday, Georgia Tech erased the advantage by the end of the fourth inning, with junior right-hander Garrett Shearer and sophomore right-hander Matthew Kouser on the mound in the 14-6 defeat.
NU, which ranked second-to-last among Big Ten teams in ERA last season, allowed runs in 15 of the 21 innings played while giving up 45 hits.
Georgia Tech’s highly-touted MLB prospect trio of outfielder Drew Burress, catcher Vahn Lackey and second baseman Jarren Advincula combined for 17 hits and 13 RBIs.
But a deep Yellow Jackets lineup wouldn’t rest, especially Sunday, when No. 5 hitter Ryan Zuckerman and No. 7 batter Drew Rogers combined for five home runs as the ’Cats offense sputtered in the middle innings.
In each contest, NU started productively offensively, but largely fizzled out as the game went on. Seemingly demoralized by large deficits due to poor pitching from starters, nine of the ’Cats’ 12 runs across the weekend came in the first two innings.
Hliboki, who started his third straight Friday game, allowed five extra base hits in the second inning before coach Ben Greenspan pulled him from the contest with the score 9-2. It has been a difficult start to the season for the ace, who has given up 12 extra-base hits and a 15.19 ERA in three starts.
Weaver, who entered the series with a 2.13 ERA, threw just 38 strikes in 72 pitches Saturday as Georgia Tech piled on eight earned runs and 10 hits in his two innings. The Illinois State graduate transfer picked up his first loss of the season.
Sunday’s early-inning arms fared better, as Shearer and Kouser allowed four earned runs in six innings, but their efforts still weren’t enough to hold an advantage. When Kouser left the game in the seventh inning, the ’Cats trailed 6-5.
The Yellow Jackets had been upset by Georgia State on Tuesday after only putting up five hits in the 9-4 loss. But NU allowed double-digit hits in all three contests, making such a victory far-fetched.
As each game fell apart, the bullpen was unable to stop the bleeding.
In Friday’s contest, every ’Cats pitcher except for freshman right-hander James Whitaker gave up at least two earned runs. Sophomore right-hander Tommy Bridges, who came into the game in the fourth inning, lasted only 1/3 of an inning, allowing four earned runs on just 14 pitches.
On Saturday, the NU saved most of its bullpen arms despite Weaver and Rifenberg’s blunders, bringing in sophomore utility player Carter Danz, who had played in left field the day before, to finish the game. He was responsible for just one of the 13 runs given up that afternoon.
Rifenburg was largely solid after giving up a grand slam to first baseman Nathanael Coupet, allowing six hits and four earned runs in four innings. But Coupet’s home run had put the ’Cats in a 10-3 hole.
When Sunday’s contest was close in the seventh inning, freshman left-hander Justin Fryer allowed Rogers to hit a three-run home run that set off a chain of Yellow Jackets offense. Freshman left-hander Sam Michel gave up five earned runs, including two homers, in 2/3 of an inning after entering for Fryer.
NU’s pitching struggles overshadowed somewhat solid work at the plate over the weekend. It put up 27 hits in 23 innings.
Kucherak, who entered the series batting .207 and without an extra base hit after smashing 18 home runs last season, went 5-for-11 with a home run and two doubles.
The second-year starter brought all of the ’Cats’ runs in Friday’s game as he homered off Georgia Tech ace Tate McKee to deliver NU a short-lived 2-0 lead. In the fifth inning, the No. 2 hitter doubled down the third base line to score junior second-baseman Jack Counsell. By then, though, the Yellow Jackets’ lead was 15-3.
Senior center fielder Jack Lausch put together a 4-for-12 weekend with a home run from the lead-off spot, and junior outfielder Jackson Freeman went 5-for-11 with two walks from the 3-hole.
Lausch’s two-run homer Saturday was timely as it tied the contest at 3-3 in the second inning, providing a glimmer of hope for the ’Cats before the weekend of blowouts continued.
On Saturday, freshman catcher Jay Slater, sophomore left fielder Logan de Groot, Lausch and Kucherak all had two-hit games.
Then, on Sunday, Freeman went 4-for-5, but only crossed the plate once as he was the sole ’Cat with multiple hits.
NU will return to the diamond Friday as it begins a three-game series against South Dakota State, Omaha and UNLV at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
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