While tied at four with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and looking to avoid the series sweep, Northwestern looked to sophomore infielder Ryan Kucherak.
With a 1-1 count, Kucherak unloaded with a great swing and drove the baseball to left-center field for a single, scoring senior outfielder Preston Knott to win the game.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats (14-15, 6-6 Big Ten), the same level of offense could not be found at the plate during the first two games of the series, as Iowa’s (20-10, 12-3 Big Ten) league-leading ERA proved insurmountable.
“(Iowa is) a really good team,” coach Ben Greenspan said. “They’re in first place in the league for a reason. It starts with them on the mound.”
A lack of consistency on the mound in game one plagued the ’Cats from the start. After a quick first inning for both squads, NU walked four consecutive batters to lead off the second inning. The Hawkeye contingency provided the offense to take advantage and subsequently scored five runs in the frame.
Neither team got back on the scoreboard until the sixth inning when Iowa’s Andy Nelson doubled and Gable Mitchell singled to score two runs and take a 7-0 lead.
Iowa southpaw Cade Obermueller pitched five no-hit innings before graduate student utility player Tyler Ganus singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Later in the inning, a groundout from junior infielder Owen McElfatrick scored sophomore outfielder Griffin Mills.
However, four walks and three hits in the seventh inning helped the Hawkeyes score five more runs.
Obermueller, who notched a career-high 12 strikeouts, retired the ’Cats in order in the bottom of the frame to secure a 12-1 run-rule victory. Obermueller’s complete game was Iowa’s first since 2021.
In game two, the Hawkeyes once again got off to a quick start on offense. After a leadoff double from Ben Wilmes, Reese Moore brought him home a few at-bats later with a groundout.
Graduate student starting right-hander Sam Hliboki then pitched four scoreless innings in response. Hliboki only allowed two hits and struck out four during his outing.
“I thought Sam Hliboki really set the tone … and really competed for us,” Greenspan said. “He executed a ton of pitches.”
The ’Cats were quicker to get on the board in this contest. Junior infielder Trent Liolios doubled to right-center field with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning. In the next at-bat, Kucherak reached on an infield single, scoring Liolios and tying the game at one.
Iowa retook the lead in the top of the sixth by scoring three unearned runs after graduate student left-hander Crawford Wade replaced Hliboki.
Later, the first home run of the series was scored by Miles Risley, giving the Hawkeyes a 5-1 lead in the top of the seventh.
In the bottom of the frame, freshman designated hitter Zach Carlson recorded his second hit of the game. No other ’Cat replicated his multi-hit performance in the game. Carlson got his second and third starts of the season this weekend as junior outfielder Jack Lausch was left out of the lineup for the whole series.
“Zach was a guy that didn’t travel the first couple of trips, and when that happens, you have a choice,” Greenspan said. “You can get negative and feel sorry for yourself, or you can dig in and get better, and that’s what he did.”
Ultimately, a two-run home run from Iowa in the top of the ninth put the game to bed, as the Hawkeyes took the series after a 7-1 game two victory.
NU turned to freshman right-hander Matthew Kouser, who pitched three scoreless innings to start game three.
For the first time all weekend, it was the ’Cats that got on the board first. A pair of doubles in the bottom of the third from McElfatrick and sophomore outfielder Jackson Freeman plated three runs.
A groundout in the fourth scored a run for the Hawkeyes, but it was the only run Kouser allowed in his five innings of work.
Graduate student left-hander Blake MacMillan replaced the freshman on the mound in the sixth inning and quickly gave up two runs on consecutive hits, tying the game at three.
Heading into the eighth and ninth innings, both teams were looking for a bit of magic to break the deadlock. In the bottom of the eighth, Liolios jumped all over a pitch and sent it over the right field wall, giving NU a 4-3 lead.
An out away from dropping game three, Iowa’s Blake Guerin hammered a double to left field that just escaped Knott’s glove and tied the game at four.
The ’Cats have shined during clutch moments this season. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Kucherak delivered a strike that dropped in left-center field and scored Knott, taking the final game of the series 5-4 and breaking Iowa’s ten-game conference winning streak.
“I took the first cutter for a strike, and then it was pretty much the same pitch,” Kucherak said. “I saw it well, put a good swing on it, and it happened to land.”
In Greenspan’s eyes, taking the third game from Iowa provided a lot of good lessons about the team’s resilience.
“You have Ryan Kucherak getting the game-winning hit after striking out the first three at-bats. The number of people that aren’t tough-minded, strong-minded that would let those first three at-bats impact the last one … and he didn’t,” Greenspan said. “I’m so proud of the way we bounced back today, bounced back over the course of this game multiple times.”
At this point in the season, NU has not been swept by a Big Ten opponent.
The ’Cats will be back in action on Tuesday as they will travel to South Bend, Indiana to take on Notre Dame.
Email: annawatson2027@u.northwestern.edu
X: @adub_sports
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