How should we readjust our expectations for Northwestern baseball?

The short answer: quite a lot.

That’s a more complicated question than it might seem.

Since I decided to write this article at the beginning of this week, Northwestern baseball has had quite the week of its own.

Let’s back up a little, though: to begin the season, it appeared to be somewhat of a make-or-break year for Northwestern head coach Ben Greenspan. The now-second-year manager was brought into the team with the hope that he might be able to create some change to a program that hadn’t had a winning season since 2000.

Naturally, there were some bumps along the way in Greenspan’s first year as Northwestern figured out its new identity. Despite a very mediocre 18-34 record, there were plenty of signs of progress for NU going into Year Two of the rebuild. For instance, some big-time transfers announced their intention to take their talents to Evanston — including Crawford Wade (Wake Forest), Ryan Kucherak (LSU) and Sam Hliboki (Vanderbilt) — to beef up a promising young core with some more experienced weapons.

Jumping forward to the beginning of the year, many were surprised with the Wildcats’ hot start, which was almost unrecognizable to many loyal ‘Cats fans accustomed to tough losses and poor coaching.After an Opening Day loss to Long Beach State, NU ripped off five straight wins to open its year. From then on, they’ve been teasing with a winning record, flip-flopping back and forth throughout the year and even into the thick of Big Ten play.

Now fast-forward again to this past weekend. After a thrilling extra-inning win over Michigan State to take the first game of the series on Friday, Northwestern sat at 16-15 overall, and looking well on its way to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. But struggles began with the ice-cold temperatures of East Lansing, which got to the ‘Cats as they dropped the next two games to finish up their weekend.

What followed was even worse, though. In a non-conference matchup against in-state opponent Northern Illinois, the Wildcats looked completely out of sorts. Uncharacteristically bad pitching and fielding led to a 27-run day for the Huskies, who pounded the ‘Cats in a 27-11 beatdown that everyone hoped to forget.

But the team did just that. Following the roughest loss of the year, Northwestern bounced right back and opened up its three-game stretch against conference opponent Nebraska with a 9-7 win, including a thrilling two-run ninth inning that helped the ‘Cats get ahead for good.

With two more games left in Lincoln, Northwestern hopes to get back over the .500 hump, as it sits at 17-18 overall and 8-8 in the Big Ten, good for 10th place in the conference.

I highlight this past week of NU baseball not just because it happened most recently, but because I think it best represents the newly-formed identity of the program. In the “olden days” of Northwestern baseball — i.e. the last two decades — bad losses were something that just sort of happened. Not with this team.

For some, teetering along the .500 mark may seem like the definition of mediocrity. But when looking at the bigger picture for Wildcats baseball, it shows a level of improvement that we’ve been waiting for far too long. Greenspan has brought one characteristic to a team that’s desperately needed it: fight.

Northwestern has shown both a level of competency and a chip on its shoulder that the program has lacked for a while now. That boosts the ‘Cats from the all-too-familiar position of the Big Ten bottom-feeders to a team truly fighting for a conference tournament spot, and threatening even the best of the Midwest.

So how do we adjust our expectations accordingly? Well, it starts with confidence. One thing that’s been clear is that inside the dugout, confidence is at an all-time high. So as fans, it’s important to emulate that same energy and understand that Greenspan has this team back in the national eye, rather than just lurking in the shadows.

Of course, there’s only so much Northwestern baseball can do as far as this season goes. A conference tournament appearance would be amazing to see, a win even better. But more than just adjusting our expectations for the next month or so, we can readjust them for the long-term.

Players will come and go, as always happens in college sports (especially in this day and age). But one thing that stays is culture. So seeing the foundations of that being built in real time is not only exciting, but should encourage fans to expect a new level of baseball in Evanston.