Freeman, Hliboki impress as Northwestern baseball splits hotly contested four game series against The Citadel

Back to .500

Northwestern (7-7) went 2-2 on the road against The Citadel (9-7) this weekend in a four game series that saw each game decided by no more than three runs.

Jackson Freeman shined for the ‘Cats in South Carolina, finishing the weekend with six hits and three RBIs after amassing just six total hits in his first ten games. Freeman, who led Northwestern in RBIs and tied for the team lead in home runs with Owen McElfatrick in his freshman season, came into the weekend with a team worst .171 batting average. His 6-for-16 showing against The Citadel now has that number up to a much more respectable .235.

Sam Hliboki was Northwestern’s best arm in Charleston, allowing just one earned run in seven combined innings of work. After one scoreless inning of relief in the first leg of the Saturday doubleheader, Hliboki made his second start of the season a few hours later. The graduate student was absolute nails on the bump in that one, shoving a career-high six innings of one-run ball in a game where coach Ben Greenspan desperately needed a strong showing from his starting pitcher — especially with Northwestern’s ERA leader in Garrett Shearer missing the weekend with an injury.

To give some context, The Citadel were picked to finish towards the bottom of the Southern Conference in most preseason polls but have been playing good baseball as of late. The Bulldogs came into the weekend as winners of five of their last six with the lone loss coming against South Carolina.

Northwestern was swept by No. 17 Duke its last time out after starting the season 5-2 — its best mark through seven games since 2003.

Game one: The Citadel 4, Northwestern 2

Northwestern’s bats were slow to get going in game one as The Citadel’s Will Holmes continued his hot start to the season. The junior southpaw allowed one run across six innings, and his ERA actually increased to 0.83. Shades of 2021 Jacob deGrom in the SoCon.

Unlike the 2021 Mets, The Citadel’s offense backed up its ace nicely, scoring four runs in the first five innings facing Northwestern’s Crawford Wade. The ‘Cats got two back in the top of the sixth as Preston Knott scored on a wild pitch and Bennett Markinson drove in Owen McElfatrick on a sacrifice fly.

Jack Grunkemeyer kept Northwestern within striking distance with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Northwestern entered the ninth trailing 4-2.

The ‘Cats threatened a comeback after a one-out triple from Ryan Kucherak, but Anthony Hausner retired Trent Liolios and Tyler Ganus to close out a win for the Bulldogs in the series opener.

Game two: The Citadel 5, Northwestern 4 (seven innings)

Northwestern started the first game of the Saturday doubleheader out for blood with three runs in the top of the first. After a double from McElfatrick in the two-hole, Jackson Freeman started the scoring with an RBI double of his own to get the ‘Cats on the board. Liolios brought home Freeman with Northwestern’s third double of the inning after a 12-pitch at bat, and Markinson continued the abuse with yet another RBI double behind him.

The Citadel left Northwestern no time to enjoy its lead as Travis Elliott tied the game at three with a two-run RBI single in the bottom of the second.

Liolios continued his big day at the plate with a solo blast in the top of the fourth to put Northwestern back in front.

The Bulldogs tied the game in the bottom of the sixth after a wild pitch from Matthew Kouser, and Hliboki came into clean up the mess with two runners on and nobody out. Hliboki retired three straight Bulldog hitters, but The Citadel took a 5-4 lead off a fielder’s choice.

The ‘Cats put a runner on base in the top of the last for the second consecutive game as Knott walked with two outs in the seventh, but a McElfatrick fly out sealed an 0-2 start for Northwestern in Charleston.

Game three: Northwestern 4, The Citadel 1

Northwestern got in the win column a few hours later behind a dominant start from Hliboki. The Citadel slayer struck out six and allowed just one run in six innings of work as Northwestern grinded out a clean 4-1 victory.

Jack Counsell opened the scoring in the second inning with a towering ground rule double that scored Markinson. After Liolios made it 2-0 in the third with a sacrifice fly, Counsell brought home Markinson again in the fourth with an RBI single to extend the lead to three.

The Citadel clawed one back in the bottom of the fourth, but Northwestern’s pitching proved too strong. Blake MacMillan threw three scoreless in relief, while Freeman added an insurance run with an RBI double in the eighth as Northwestern closed out the win.

Game four: Northwestern 10, The Citadel 7

Preston Knott kept the good times rolling with a leadoff home run in game four a day later. The Citadel’s Ben Brash hung a breaking ball on a 2-2 count, and Knott made him feel it with an emphatic blast to right field.

It was all offense in this one as both starting pitchers were bounced early. Neither Brash or Northwestern’s Amar Tsengeg made it to the third inning. Jack Lausch, Knott and Freeman drove in runners for the ‘Cats in a three run top of the second, but The Citadel kept pace with a three-RBI double from Phillips Daniels in the bottom half of the inning.

In the fifth, Liolios hit Northwestern’s second dinger of the day with a solo shot, and Marty Kaplan scored Kucherak with an RBI single to extend the Wildcat lead to three.

The Citadel got one back in the bottom of the fifth, but Northwestern’s offense was having none of it. Liolios drove in his second run of the day with an RBI single in the sixth, and Lausch and Knott continued their big days with a pair of RBIs in the seventh.

Lausch proved his mettle as a defender as well down the stretch with two web-gems in center field to preserve the Northwestern lead. His first highlight play — a full-extension leaping grab over his left shoulder — came with two runners on and one out in the seventh inning as Northwestern protected a 10-6 lead. That snag undoubtedly goes down as the play of the weekend. Someone put this man on a football field.

Alex Grant worked two scoreless innings out of the bullpen to earn his first career save, and the ‘Cats won 10-7 to close out a 2-2 weekend in South Carolina.

Northwestern is back in action on Tuesday to begin an eight-game home stand at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park. The ‘Cats will face Illinois State at 3:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday in their home opener, before facing Penn State in a three game series that begins on Friday.