Northwestern
Michigan State
Northwestern Ready for Weekend Series at Michigan State
4/25/2019 12:51:00 PM | Baseball
| NORTHWESTERN BASEBALL: GAME-DAY INFO | ||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME (CT) | LOCATION | ONLINE STREAM | RADIO STREAM | LIVE STATS |
| Friday, April 26 | Michigan State | 5:35 p.m. | McLane Baseball Stadium | BTN Plus on BTN2Go | WNUR | MSUspartans |
| Saturday, April 27 | Michigan State | 12:05 p.m. | McLane Baseball Stadium | BTN Plus on BTN2Go | WNUR | MSUspartans |
| Saturday, April 27 | Michigan State | ~3:35 p.m. | McLane Baseball Stadium | Big Ten Network | WNUR | MSUspartans |
| Social: Twitter (@NUCatsBaseball) | Instagram (nucatsbaseball) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern |
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EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern is set to play its penultimate road Big Ten series this weekend at Michigan State. Sunday's contest will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
UPDATE: Due to inclement weather, Sunday's game has been moved to a Saturday doubleheader.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, April 26
Michigan State: RHP Mason Erla (1-6, 5.65 ERA)
Northwestern: LHP Quinn Lavelle (3-5, 5.11 ERA)
Saturday, April 27 (G1)
Michigan State: LHP Mitchell Tyranski (0-7, 5.32 ERA)
Northwestern: RHP Mike Doherty (2-0, 4.81 ERA)
Saturday, April 27 (G2)
Michigan State: RHP Caleb Sleeman (2-3, 4.58 ERA)
Northwestern: TBD
News and notes...
FROM THE JUMP: The Wildcats are set to play their penultimate road Big Ten series of the season with a three-game set at Michigan State ... The trip to East Lansing is Northwestern's first since a three-game series on April 10-12, 2015.
DOING SOME RECON: Despite being 12-27, Michigan State has won three of their last four games, including a 5-3 win over Indiana on April 21 ... The Spartans' .225 batting average is last in the Big Ten ... Bryce Kelley is one of the speediest student-athletes in the Big Ten, swiping a Conference-best 15 bases.
NOT DUNN YET: Senior infielder Jack Dunn has started every game since coming to Evanston, a 197-game streak ... He has reached base in 57 of his last 60 games ... He has a hit in 32 of 37 games this season ... His .368 batting average is the second-best in the Big Ten ... His .476 on-base percentage is third-best in the Big Ten.
MR. 305: Junior infielder Alex Erro has been on a tear in the month of April, hitting a team-best .418 in 55 at-bats ... Erro's .325 season batting average is 12th-best in the Big Ten ... His .360 batting average in Big Ten play is ninth-best in the Conference.
POP TIME: Rookie backstop Michael Trautwein has been effective behind the plate, as he has a 46.7 caught stealing percentage this season ... Among Division I catchers with at least 30 stolen base attempts against, that clip is fourth-best in the nation (Brock Hallum (LIU Brooklyn; 63.6), James Free II (Pacific; 52.8), and Reynaldo Pastrana (Marshall; 51.6)) ... That makes him the best among Power Five backstops.
SPEED DEMONS: NU has swiped 58 bags, the most in the Big Ten ... Six Wildcats have stolen five or more bases ... Jack Dunn has a team-high 10 stolen bases, tied for sixth in the Big Ten.
SMALL BALL: Jack Dunn has bunted 12 times this season — seven of those have been hits, five of those have been sacrifices.
WHAT A REVELATION: Junior righty Nick Paciorek, after converting from a catcher, has been a tremendous contributor for the Wildcats ... He has three saves in 14 appearances, totaling 17.0 IP ... He has a 37.7% strikeout rate, the best mark on the squad and the second-best in the Big Ten (min. 50 BF) ... Opposing batters are hitting .169 against Paciorek ... Paciorek's 24.2 strikeouts per nine innings against left-handed hitters is first in the Big Ten (min. 20 BF) ... He has struck out 42.4% of lefties he's faced, the third highest mark in the Big Ten.
LIMITING CONTACT, BOTH BIG AND SMALL: Junior Josh Levy has had a wild run of relief pitching ... He has not allowed a hit in six-straight outings, totaling 7.2 innings pitched ... His .148 batting average against (8-for-54) this season is the second-best in the Big Ten (min. 60 BF).
THIS AND THAT: Northwestern's batting average this season is .266, the fifth-best mark in the Conference ... The Wildcats have hit 12 triples, the most in the Big Ten ... Northwestern's .970 fielding percentage (41 E/1,375 TC) is fourth-best in the Conference.
WHEN IT MATTERS MOST: Senior infielder Jack Dunn is hitting a team-best .583 (21-for-36) with runners in scoring position ... His .469 clip (15-for-32) with two outs is the best mark for the Wildcats this season ... His brother David's .436 (17-for-39) mark is the second-best.
THIS ONLY INTERESTS ME: In 136 at-bats (third-most on the team), Jack Dunn has only struck out looking twice.
PATIENT AT THE PLATE: Eight Wildcats — Jack Anderson, Willie Bourbon, Anthony Calarco, Ben Dickey, David Dunn, Jack Dunn, Jack Kelly, and Charlie Maxwell — average seeing 4.0-plus pitches per plate appearance ... Calarco's average of 4.5 pitches per plate appearance lead all 'Cats.
SUCCESS ON THE BUMP: Sophomore southpaw Quinn Lavelle has made 10 starts, six of which have been quality starts ... In five starts this season he has allowed one or fewer runs ... He has allowed only one home run in 56.1 innings pitched.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Last year, six underclassmen position players made 15 or more starts ... 92 percent of games started by underclassmen pitchers last season led the nation (tied with Georgia Tech) ... Overall, the Wildcats return 22 letterwinners.
WELCOME TO THE 'CATS: On February 5, Allen and his coaching staff announced the addition of six members to the Class of 2023: RHP Jack Dyke (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prep), SS/2B Evan Minarovic (Houston, Texas/The John Cooper School), RHP Coby Moe (Grayslake, Ill./Grayslake Central), RHP Jack Sauser (Bloomington, Ill./University), RHP Reed Smith (Cypress, Texas/The John Cooper School), and INF/OF Luke Tanner (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School).
THE HOME DIGS: Northwestern's home venue, Rocky & Berenice Miller Park, was opened after renovations on March 30, 2016 ... The extensive renovation features Hayden Clubhouse and the Mogentale Players' Lounge plus a synthetic surface maximizing practice opportunities and minimizing game delays and cancellations.
