With five consecutive series defeats looming over Northwestern, the Wildcats (21-24, 10-14 Big Ten) are in need of a favorable result if they want to make a trip to Omaha for the Big Ten Tournament in May. After losing two of three games to Purdue, the ’Cats are ranked 13th in the Big Ten, currently sitting as the first team out of the 12-team field.
NU has a chance to get back on track at the historic Wrigley Field on Friday against the Big Ten’s bottom feeders, Ohio State.
The ’Cats’ trip to The Friendly Confines will be their fourth all-time and their third in as many seasons. After suffering a 9-3 loss against Purdue last season, NU baseball is 2-1 at Wrigley all-time.
The matchup with the Buckeyes (11-33, 3-21 Big Ten) appears to be favorable for NU by glaring at conference records, but Ohio State outranks the ’Cats in several key categories entering Tuesday, including runs, RBI and batting average.
Here are three keys to a successful Northwestern series this weekend.
- Bennett Markinson’s bat is making a return. Can anybody else step up on offense?
Senior catcher Bennett Markinson has taken a step back on the offensive side of the ball this season. After batting .337 in 2024, Markinson’s average has dropped to .269 this season.
While other ’Cats have gone cold at this point of the season, Markinson has regained form. Against Purdue this past weekend, Markinson went 4-for-11 at the plate with six RBIs.
On Friday, the catcher hit a double in the seventh inning to score three runs and take a lead NU did not relinquish in its comeback victory. Over the course of the season, Markinson has tallied 30 RBIs and four home runs.
Junior infielder Owen McElfatrick has been the most consistent Wildcat at the plate recently, riding a five-game hit streak. Having Markinson join in on McElfatrick’s success is vital for NU’s success this weekend, as coach Ben Greenspan’s squad will look to put runs on the board against an Ohio State pitching staff with a league-worst 9.38 ERA entering Tuesday.
Other options on offense include the team’s home run leader junior infielder Trent Liolios, but Liolios hasn’t been the same since hitting his 15th home run of the season against Notre Dame. Following NU’s trip to South Bend, Liolios held a .333 batting average. After a stretch that included 11 games without a home run and a hitless weekend against Purdue, Liolios’ batting average has dipped to .253.
If Liolios bounces back from a rough weekend and Markinson continues to improve, it will provide the ’Cats with a newfound offensive momentum to carry them through an important series.
- Sam Hliboki needs to eat up innings
The only Big Ten team with a worse ERA than NU is Ohio State. Despite picking up new faces in the transfer portal this offseason, the ’Cats’ 7.83 ERA is worse than last season’s 6.93 mark.
On Friday night at Wrigley, one pitcher has the chance to swing the tides of a crucial series — graduate student right-hander Sam Hliboki. Hliboki has carried a significant workload for NU this season, pitching a team-high 69.0 innings.
Hliboki will most likely get the nod on the mound in game one of the series, and if he can carry the ’Cats through a high-quality stretch of innings, the bullpen will be in good shape for the remainder of the series.
In four of his last five outings, Hliboki pitched five or more innings. The sole exception is his rough outing against Washington, where he allowed nine runs off ten hits in 4.2 innings of work. That outing reflected NU’s poor pitching through the duration of the series, as the team allowed 37 runs and was run-ruled twice.
When Hliboki sets the tone for the game, though, things go well for the ’Cats. NU has won every game in which Hliboki pitched six or more innings.
Against an Ohio State team batting .264 entering Tuesday, among the conference’s lowest marks, Hliboki has the opportunity to start the weekend on a high note.
- Put the ball in play and continue to limit strikeouts
Entering Tuesday, Ohio State’s .952 fielding percentage is the worst in the Big Ten. Simply putting the barrel on the ball could produce success for the ’Cats, and the team is well within its ability to do so. Entering Tuesday, NU’s 332 strikeouts is fifth fewest in the Big Ten.
Key players like Markinson and senior outfielder Preston Knott rank toward the bottom of the Big Ten in strikeouts.
Seeing as the ’Cats have scored the least amount of runs in the conference, this matchup has a chance to narrow this considerable gap against a defense prone to errors.
With NU’s final series of the season against nationally ranked UCLA, its matchup against Ohio State might be its final chance to bolster its postseason chances.
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