After entering the weekend needing at least one win to stay in the Big Ten Tournament race, Northwestern dropped all three games at Illinois to officially end its postseason hopes.
The Wildcats (20-28-1, 7-20 Big Ten) are now tied for the worst record in the conference and are out of the running for a top-12 finish, which is required for a Big Ten Tournament berth. The Fighting Illini (27-23, 13-14 Big Ten) clinched a spot in the tournament and jumped to the eighth seed after the weekend sweep.
Illinois opened the weekend with a 12-0 run-rule victory Friday. Graduate student left-handed pitcher Ryan Weaver started for the ’Cats. Through the first two innings, he gave up two hits and one run as Illinois jumped out to a 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, the Fighting Illini added seven runs. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Alex Grant closed out the inning for Weaver, who finished the game with 2.2 innings pitched, seven hits allowed, eight earned runs and three strikeouts. Illinois scored four runs in the fourth inning, including two unearned due to a throwing error by Grant, to extend its lead to 12-0.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Sam Michel pitched the final 2.1 innings for NU, his first collegiate appearance over an inning, allowing two hits and no runs.
The ’Cats struggled to respond at the plate, mustering six hits and no runs in the game. Senior third baseman Owen McElfatrick was the only NU batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with singles in the first and seventh innings.
Saturday’s matchup was much more competitive. Illinois took an early 3-0 lead, scoring one run in the first inning and two runs in the second inning. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Matthew Kouser battled back in the next four frames, giving up just one hit between the third and sixth innings.
McElfatrick homered in the sixth inning to get the ’Cats on the board. He then added his second RBI of the game in the eighth inning, scoring senior left fielder Marty Kaplan and cutting the deficit to 3-2.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Jake Rifenburg kept the Fighting Illini scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings, as NU entered the ninth inning trailing by one run.
Sophomore catcher Jay Slater and freshman first baseman Nick Barron reached to give the ’Cats runners on first and third base in the top of the ninth inning, with a double and single respectively. Sophomore Charlie Caruso and junior Griffin Mills entered as pinch runners for Slater and Barron, respectively.
In a baserunning move meant to give Caruso a chance to reach home from third base, Mills got caught in a pickle between first and second base. Caruso was unable to score before Illinois tagged Mills out.
Freshman designated hitter Jake Yang stepped up to the plate with two outs, and walked after fighting through an eight-pitch at-bat. Junior right fielder Jackson Freeman reached on an error, scoring Caruso to tie the game 3-3. Kaplan then struck out to end the half inning.
On the third pitch of the bottom of the ninth inning, Illinois catcher Will Johannes knocked a walk-off solo home run off Rifenburg, giving the Fighting Illini a 4-3 victory.
Sunday’s game mirrored Friday and Saturday’s early hot starts for Illinois, as the hosts scored four runs in the first inning off graduate student right-handed pitcher Sam Hliboki. They combined for five runs in the second, third and fourth innings for a 9-0 lead.
Senior center fielder Jack Lausch launched his 14th home run of the season, a team high and tied for 11th most in the Big Ten, in the sixth inning to cut the score to 9-1.
Illinois scored its 10th run in the eighth inning, while NU got a late spark from its freshmen batters. RBI hits from Yang and Barron added two runs in the ninth inning of the Fighting Illini’s 10-3 win.
The ’Cats have not reached the conference tournament since 2017.
NU finishes its season over the weekend, hosting Rutgers, which is currently in a four-way tie for the final three spots in the Big Ten Tournament.
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