Senior third baseman Owen McElfatrick etched his name further into Northwestern’s history books on Tuesday during the Wildcats’ (17-24-1, 5-16 Big Ten) 10-8 win over Milwaukee.
McElfatrick opened the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff home run, extending his hitting streak to six games. With his eighth homer of the season and 32nd of his career, McElfatrick claimed sole possession of second all-time in home runs for NU and gave the ’Cats an early 1-0 lead over the Panthers (15-26, 10-8 Horizon League).
After a scoreless second inning, Milwaukee right fielder Charlie Marion responded with a two-run homer in the top of the third inning to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Senior right-hander Sam Hliboki started for the ’Cats, pitching three innings and allowing two hits and two runs with one strikeout.
A leadoff double from McElfatrick gave NU’s offense a quick start in the bottom of the third inning. Senior center fielder Jack Lausch and junior shortstop Ryan Kucherak then walked to load the bases. Sacrifice flies from graduate student second baseman Noah Ruiz and freshman first baseman Nick Barron brought home McElfatrick and Lausch, respectively, to put the ’Cats back ahead 3-2.
Sophomore left-hander Alex Grant entered in relief in the fourth inning, putting out Milwaukee’s batters in a three-up, three-down inning. Junior right fielder Jackson Freeman started the bottom of the fourth with a double, but the Panthers retired the next three NU batters.
Marion tied the game 3-3 for Milwaukee with an RBI double in the fifth inning. In the bottom of the inning, Lausch and Kucherak set up the ’Cats with a single and a double. With two runners in scoring position, Ruiz picked up his second RBI of the game, scoring Lausch on a groundout. Sophomore catcher Jay Slater then reached on a throwing error, with Kucherak scoring on the same play to extend the lead to 5-3.
NU called in freshman right-hander James Whitaker from the bullpen in the sixth inning, who gave up a home run to his first batter, Panthers left fielder Bradyn Horn. Whitaker responded by dismissing three of the next four batters, with the ’Cats holding onto a 5-4 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Lausch, Kucherak and Barron delivered three home runs in the span of four batters, powering a five-run inning. Lausch and Kucherak’s homers were each their 10th of the season.
Entering the seventh inning leading 10-4, NU relinquished four runs to the Panthers in the top of the inning. Marion hit a two-run home run, his second homer of the game, to start the rally. Sophomore right-hander Tommy Bridges entered the game for freshman Dominic DeLoreto, who started the inning, and earned all three outs without giving up an earned run to escape the inning still ahead 10-8. Bridges, who pitched two innings and allowed four hits and no runs, earned his second career win.
Senior left fielder Marty Kaplan kept the ’Cats up two runs by throwing out Marion at home plate to end the top of the eighth inning.
After NU did not add any runs in the bottom of the inning, junior right-hander Garrett Shearer came into the game as the closer. Shearer retired all three batters he faced, securing the 10-8 win for the ’Cats and earning his first save of the season.
The ’Cats return to conference play Friday, facing Indiana at Wrigley Field to open a three-game weekend home series. It is NU’s fourth consecutive year hosting a game at Wrigley, most recently defeating Ohio State 12-2 in a run-rule victory on May 9.
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