Box Score
 |
||
 |
Kansas 10, Northwestern 7 Rocky Miller Park | Evanston, Ill. Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML) |
 |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Fifth-year senior Scott Heelan and senior Luke Dauch each hit their first home runs of the season on Wednesday afternoon at Rocky Miller Park, but Kansas used a ninth-inning grand slam to rally past Northwestern in the midweek finale, 10-6.
Heelan paced the Wildcats' offense with four hits and two RBI in five at bats. Fifth-year senior Cody Stevens, who went 2-for-2 in Wednesday's contest, reached base five times, while sophomore RJ Watters contributed a run and two RBI on two hits.
For the fourth time this season, the Wildcats used a lead off home run to open scoring. This time, it came off the bat of Heelan, who sent his first dinger of the year to left field. After the first frame, NU held a 1-0 lead.
Kansas, however, was quick to respond as the Jayhawks used a three-run inning in the top of the third to take back control of the game, 3-1. A single from sophomore Michael Tinsley drove home KU's first run of the game before senior Blair Beck used a base-clearing triple to plate two more.
Northwestern followed up with a three-run frame of its own in the bottom of the fourth. Dauch, much like Heelan, used a lead off home run to right field to spark the comeback. Watters launched a single to left center and Stevens drew a walk before both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt from junior Antonio Freschet. Watters scored on a groundout from first-year Connor Lind for the equalizer and Heelan crossed Stevens with a base hit to shortstop as the Wildcats took over, 4-3.
The Jayhawks tallied the tying run in the top of the sixth, but it seemed as if the Wildcats had all the momentum down the stretch. Junior Jack Mitchell forced a leadoff walk and advanced to third, thanks to a base hit from senior Reid Hunter. Watters nailed a single down the right field line to plate Mitchell and Hunter as Northwestern went ahead, 6-4, after seven frames.
KU began to cause trouble for the Wildcats when senior Connor McKay reached base on a throwing error to set up senior Dakota's Smith two-run home run. Kansas evened the score, once again, 6-6
With two outs, the Jayhawks drew a base hit and a pair of walks to load the bases to bring up freshman TJ Martin, who smashed a grand slam over the left field fence and put KU on top, 10-6.
NU added one more run in the bottom of the ninth, but Kansas held off the Wildcats for the series sweep.
Up next, Northwestern closes out its road slate when it heads to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a three-game Big Ten series at Michigan. Friday's contest is slated for a 5 p.m. start and will be broadcast live on BTN Plus.
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!