The ‘Cats move back up to .500 on the season.
Northwestern (15-15, 6-6 B1G) survived a late-game surge from Notre Dame (15-15, 3-12 ACC) to come away with a 9-7 victory in South Bend. The win puts the ‘Cats back at .500 on the year as they look to capture their first winning season since 2000.
After the ‘Cats starting pitcher Amar Tsengeg tossed a scoreless first inning, the Fighting Irish struck first in the bottom of the second. Parker Brzustewicz reached base off a Northwestern throwing error, and a one-out Connor Hincks double scored Brzustewicz to give Notre Dame the early lead after two frames.
The lead did not last long, however. After retiring Tyler Ganus via a flyout, Notre Dame starting pitcher Kellan Klosterman plunked Bennett Markinson and then walked Jack Counsell to put two aboard with one out. A Preston Knott single to left field loaded the bases before Owen McElfatrick drove in Markinson and Counsell with a base hit of his own. Jackson Freeman drove in one more run in the inning with a slapper to center field, giving NU a 3-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the third, Tsengeg walked Davis Johnson, who stole second and scored off a Carson Tinney double down the left field line to bring the Irish within one. Tsengeg recovered nicely, however, finishing the inning without further damage.
Northwestern put up another strong offensive showing in the top of the fourth. Freshman Zach Carlson led off the inning with a double, and Ganus recorded a base hit before a wild pitch by Dylan Heine scored Carlson and advanced Ganus to second. Soon after, Knott added a pair of runs to NU’s total off a two-out blast to right field that extended the Wildcat lead to 6-2.
In the bottom of the fourth, with two outs and men on first and second, Northwestern manager Ben Greenspan replaced Tsengeg on the mound with Jack Grunkemeyer. Grunkemeyer hit the first two batters he faced, bringing in a run for Notre Dame to make it 6-3 after four innings.
The ‘Cats added two more runs in the fifth off a two-run moonshot from Trent Liolios, whose fifteenth home run of the year tied the single-season Northwestern record. Grunkemeyer shut the Irish down in the bottom of the inning, and the Wildcats held a commanding 8-3 advantage after a scoreless sixth.
However, Notre Dame wasn’t finished competing. In the bottom of the seventh, Grunkemeyer issued two free passes before relief pitcher Christian Forniss took over. After giving up a base knock to Hincks that scored one run, Forniss threw a wild pitch that brought in another one for the Irish. He recorded a strikeout after that, but followed it up by hitting a batter and allowing another hit to load the bases.
To escape the jam, Northwestern turned to a veteran arm in Crawford Wade. Wade immediately punched out a batter to record the second out of the inning, but followed up by ceding a hit to Tinney that scored two more runs. Wade was able to record the final out relatively quickly, but Notre Dame had done its damage. Northwestern clung on to an 8-7 lead with two innings to go.
After a scoreless eighth that saw Wade retire all three Notre Dame batters he faced, Northwestern led off the ninth inning with a hit by Bennett Markinson. Counsell hit a sacrifice bunt to advance Markinson to second before Knott brought him home with a double to left center. Wade then took care of business in the bottom half of the inning to record the save and book Northwestern an exciting 9-7 victory.
The Wildcats are now winners of two consecutive games. They will look to extend that streak this weekend at East Lansing for a three-game series against Michigan State.