Huskies let lead slip away late in 10-9 loss to Northwestern
The Washington Huskies let their lead slip away in the late innings in a 10-9 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday.
The Washington Huskies had an opportunity to clinch their third Big Ten series of the 2026 season, but let it slip away in the late innings in a 10-9 loss to Northwestern. After the Huskies jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the third inning, fueled by catcher Colton Bower, who went 2-for-4 on the day with 4 runs batted in. The Huskies fell behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning, but quickly battled back after he launched a three-run home run, his sixth of the year in Big Ten play, which leads the conference, before he added an RBI single in the second inning as he helped coach Eddie Smith's team build its lead.
However, after starter Gunnar Nichols, who worked 4 innings and surrendered 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts, turned the ball over to the bullpen, the lineup cooled down as the Wildcats chipped away. In the sixth inning, his final frame, reliever Tommy Brandenburg let up a three-run home run to catcher Shane Hofstadler to knot the score at 7-7. 425 feet.
105 MPH. 26 degree launch angle. Absolutely CRUSHED!
pic. twitter. com/aVOLuZ6XEl ā Washington Baseball (@UW_Baseball) March 29, 2026 Then, in the eighth inning, Hofstadler untied the game with an RBI double off of Jackson Thomas, who took the loss and fell to 1-3 on the season, to give the Wildcats the lead for good, before left fielder Logan De Groot added some insurance with a two-run single in the ninth inning.