Baseball: Clutch hitting secures Northwestern’s first Big Ten series win

Northwestern (12-15-1, 5-7 Big Ten) earned its first Big Ten series win of the season over Michigan State (10-19, 5-10 Big Ten) thanks to several clutch hits in the final two games. Owen McElfatrick and Jackson Freeman led the way for the Wildcats, driving in five and four runs, respectively, over the weekend. ​Game 1: Northwestern 1, Michigan State 5 Game one began as a pitcher’s duel, with Northwestern’s Jake Rifenburg and Michigan State’s Aidan Donovan trading zeros through five innings.

Donovan allowed just two Northwestern baserunners over that stretch as the Wildcats’ bats showed little signs of life. The Spartans finally broke through in the sixth with back-to-back one-out hits off Rifenburg, forcing head coach Ben Greenspan to make a pitching change. Alex Grant entered with runners on second and third, but could not escape the jam, allowing an RBI single to Issac Sturgess.

NU fell behind 2-0 in the sixth. After another scoreless inning from the Wildcats, Michigan State added to its lead. Sam Hliboki relieved Grant in the seventh after a leadoff single, but could not stop the bleeding.

The Spartans added two more hits in the inning, then tacked on an RBI double in the eighth to make it 5-0. Donovan finally showed signs of vulnerability in the eighth when McElfatrick doubled home Northwestern’s first run, but the spark did not last. Donovan retired the next Wildcat hitter and Brady Chambers closed out the 5-1 series-opening win in the ninth for a Sparty game one victory.