Northwestern
Nebraska
Northwestern to Host Nebraska for Three-Game Series
5/2/2019 9:24:00 AM | Baseball
| NORTHWESTERN BASEBALL: GAME-DAY INFO | ||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | VIDEO STREAM | LIVE STATS | |
| Saturday, May 4 | Nebraska | 2 p.m. CT | Rocky & Berenice Miller Park | BTN Plus via BTN2Go | NUsports | |
| Sunday, May 5 | Nebraska | 1 p.m. CT | Rocky & Berenice Miller Park | BTN Plus via BTN2Go | NUsports | |
| Monday, May 6 | Nebraska | 3:30 p.m. CT | Rocky & Berenice Miller Park | BTN Plus via BTN2Go | NUsports | |
| Social: Twitter (@NUCatsBaseball and @NU_Sports) | Instagram (nucatsbaseball) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern |
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EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern, winners of their last two games, are set to host Nebraska for an all-important Big Ten series this weekend. The set will be played on Saturday through Monday to accommodate Nebraska's finals schedule.
Fans are invited to enjoy NU's Bark in the Park game on Saturday and a Cinco de Mayo hospitality area on Sunday.
News and notes...
FROM THE JUMP: The Wildcats are set to play their antepenultimate Big Ten series of the season with a three-game set vs. Nebraska ... The trip to Evanston is Nebraska's first since a three-game series in 2015.
DOING SOMER ECON: Nebraska, sitting at 23-16 overall and 12-6 in Big Ten play, is in third place in the Conference ... The squad has hung its hat on reaching base as its .372 on-base percentage is second-best in the Conference, led in part by Aaron Palensky and Luke Roskam, who both own marks north of .400 ... The Cornhuskers are 2-5 in their last seven games.
NOT DUNN YET: Senior infielder Jack Dunn has started every game since coming to Evanston, a 201-game streak ... He has reached base in 60 of his last 64 games ... He has a hit in 35 of 41 games this season ... His .353 batting average is the fourth-best in the Big Ten ... His .457 on-base percentage is third-best in the Big Ten.
MR. 305: Junior infielder Alex Erro was on a tear in the month of April, hitting a team-best .412 (28-for-68), including eight extra-base hits and 18 RBI ... He also struck out only six times in the month ... Erro's .325 season batting average is 10th-best in the Big Ten ... His .365 batting average in Big Ten play is fourth-best in the Conference.
POP TIME: Rookie backstop Michael Trautwein has been effective behind the plate, as he has a 44.1 (15-for-34) 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; 61.1), James Free II (Pacific; 55.3), and Rob Dau (Air Force; 44.4) ... That makes him the best among Power Five backstops.
SPEED DEMONS: NU has swiped 61 bags, the second-most in the Big Ten ... Six Wildcats have stolen five or more bases, while three NU players are tied atop the team leaderboard with 10.
SMALL BALL: Jack Dunn has bunted 15 times this season — nine of those have been hits, six 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 a 39.1% strikeout rate, the best mark in the Big Ten (min. 60 BF) ... Opposing batters are hitting .159 against Paciorek ... Paciorek's 23.2 strikeouts per nine innings against left-handed hitters is first in the Big Ten (min. 20 BF) ... He has struck out 44.4% of lefties he's faced, the second-highest mark in the Big Ten.
LIMITING CONTACT, BOTH BIG AND SMALL: Junior Josh Levy has had a wild run of relief pitching ... Over his last nine appearances (12.0 IP), he has a 0.00 ERA and a .081 BAA ... He has allowed only three hits and six walks while striking out 13.
THIS AND THAT: Northwestern's batting average this season is .264, the fifth-best mark in the Conference ... Northwestern's .971 fielding percentage (44 E/1,526 TC) is third-best in the Conference.
WHEN IT MATTERS MOST: Senior infielder Jack Dunn is hitting a team-best .575 (22-for-38) with runners in scoring position ... His .421 clip (16-for-38) with two outs is the best mark for the Wildcats this season ... His brother David's .409 (18-for-44) mark is the second-best.
THIS ONLY INTERESTS ME: In 153 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 11 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 60.2 IP ... He is one of only three Big Ten tossers to start at least 10 games and allow one or fewer home runs.
A BIT ABOUT THE SKIP: Spencer Allen is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Northwestern baseball team ... He was named the 26th head baseball coach in NU history on June 14, 2015 ... In 2017, Allen led the Wildcats to its first appearance in the Big Ten Tournament since 2010 and a run to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game for the first time since 1984.
UP NEXT: Northwestern will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, to play a three-game series at Rutgers.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION: D1Baseball.com picked three 'Cats in their 2019 Draft Big Ten top prospects list — infielders Jack Dunn (No. 25) & Alex Erro (No. 31) plus right-handed pitcher Nick Paciorek (No. 37) ... Outfielder David Dunn is No. 14 on the 2020 list.
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.
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