Northwestern’s game against St. Thomas ended in a way that coach Ben Greenspan said one of his teams has never accomplished before — a walk-off hit by pitch.
It was a fitting end to the Wildcats’ (16-21-1, 5-13 Big Ten) midweek slate, as the umpires invoked the mercy rule in the seventh inning against the Tommies (7-28, 4-10 Summit League), giving NU the 15-5 victory.
The ’Cats batted in 26 runs across the two outings, and the team hit double-digits for games this season with over 10 runs.
“We did some things that we haven’t done a lot this year and scored in multiple ways,” Greenspan said. “I was glad when guys had the opportunity to do that. They were able to execute and it led to some big innings.”
On Tuesday, NU defeated Bradley 11-6 behind three home runs from senior outfielder Jack Lausch, junior infielder Ryan Kucherak and junior outfielder Jackson Freeman.
Greenspan praised Kucherak, who surpassed 30 RBIs for the season during the game against the Braves (8-33, 4-11 Missouri Valley Conference), calling him a “threat.” The six-foot-two infielder was named the No. 23 best shortstop in the country in preseason by D1Baseball after he set the ’Cats’ single-season home run record with 18 last year.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Alex Grant extinguished any comeback hopes for the Braves, giving up only one run and striking out four batters in the last 3.2 innings of the game.
Against St. Thomas, NU found itself in the opposite position, down 2-0 after the first inning.
Graduate student right-handed pitcher Sam Hliboki struggled to find consistency, giving up seven hits and three runs before being pulled in the fourth inning.
Hliboki entered the season as a Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch and the ’Cats’ innings pitched and strikeouts leader. Greenspan said he isn’t losing confidence in his six-foot-three ace and that his early exit was to keep him “available for this weekend.”
“I think it was good to get Hliboki back out there,” Greenspan said. “I thought he threw really well last week in our midweek and threw well again today … I think we’re going to need him in this stretch, and that’s key.”
NU was quick to regain control as senior infielder Owen McElfatrick brought home three runs with a hard-hit double in the bottom of the second.
One of the main constants for the ’Cats this season has been Lausch’s stellar performance at the plate. The senior captain had back-to-back days with three RBIs.
Lausch’s bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the seventh was the nail in the coffin for St. Thomas as NU went up by five runs and never looked back.
“(Laush) knows what he needs to do, and that’s just presence, energy, consistency. He does so much so well,” Greenspan said. “He’s a good one, easy to root for.”
Alongside the six-foot-two centerfielder, graduate student infielder Noah Ruiz, McElfatrick and Kucherak all had three RBI outings.
Heading into a three-game series with Minnesota this weekend in Minneapolis, the ’Cats have a lot of wind in their sails.
“I think we’re coming into our own a little bit offensively still … and I think those guys showed that the last couple of days, hopefully going to Minnesota with some confidence because they have some really good arms,” Greenspan said.
NU’s next game is at 5:30 p.m. on Friday against the Golden Gophers.
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