North Cook News

'Cats to Face Trio of Texas Opponents

Northwestern baseball stays on the road this week as they take on a trio of opponents in Texas. After facing TCU in Fort Worth on Wednesday, the 'Cats will head south to Houston to match up with UT-Arlington and Houston.
 
The Wildcats (1-13) will begin the action on Wednesday evening with a 6 p.m. first pitch at TCU (10-9). Following that game, they'll take Thursday off before facing UT-Arlington (8-12) at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Saturday will feature a doubleheader as the 'Cats face off with the Mavericks again at 1:30 and then Houston (8-11) at 6:30.
 
The week's action will continue a busy stretch for Northwestern, who split a two-game series at Butler on Sunday and Monday. The 'Cats picked up their first victory of the season against the Bulldogs in the opener by a final score of 5-1, then dropped a close one, 3-2, on Monday.
 
In Sunday's victory, starting pitcher Matt McClure was the headline. The junior tossed 7.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and walking one while striking out four. McClure's start was the longest by a Wildcat pitcher this season and was enough to earn him his first win with Northwestern.

On the offensive side, graduate outfielder Kevin Ferrer made an impact Sunday with his first home run of the season, a fourth-inning blast which tied the game. Also contributing was Trent Liolios, who hit a two-run double to increase the Wildcat lead. The double was Liolios' sixth of the season, putting him first on the roster. Heading into the second half of the week, his 0.5 doubles per game rank second in the Big Ten and 24th in the nation.

Despite the loss on Monday, the Wildcats received another promising pitching performance - this one from reliever Drew Dickson. The first-year tossed four scoreless frames out of the bullpen, allowing only two hits, walking none and striking out five of 14 batters he faced.

The 'Cats will take a 1-1 all-time record against TCU into Wednesday's matchup before facing both UT-Arlington and Houston for the first time this weekend. After completing the weekend series, the 'Cats will return to Evanston for their home opener Tuesday against Northern Illinois. 

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