Northwestern baseball gets crushed by Michigan in Game 2 of Friday doubleheader

Friday was a rough day for Northwestern baseball as, after losing Game 1 of an impromptu doubleheader with Michigan 10-4, the Wildcats got thoroughly beaten in Game 2 by the Wolverines, 12-3.

Dan Kubiuk got the start for the Wildcats (7-20 overall, 1-4 Big Ten) -- his second collegiate start -- but spotted the Wolverines (19-5, 2-0) a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning when Matt Ramsay smoked a pitch over the left-center fence at the new Rocky and Berenice Miller Park for a two-run shot. That was just the first of Ramsay's three such home runs on the day, as he also went yard in the 3rd and 6th, each driving in two runs.

The latter two bombs for Ramsay were to left as he singlehandedly sparked a Wolverines offensive attack that beat up Kubiuk for 6 runs in 4.1 innings. Tyler Lass, who came in relief, also got hit pretty hard and gave up Ramsay's third homer. Overall, it was a rough day for Northwestern's pitching staff, which allowed 22 runs and 30 hits across the two games.

The Wildcats' bats also struggled in the second game of the double-dip as Michigan starter Brett Adcock no-hit Northwestern through 5.1 innings. The potential no-no was broken up by shortstop Jack Dunn in the 6th on a seeing-eye single up the middle. Unfortunately for Spencer Allen's team, Dunn's base knock didn't spark much else from the Wildcats, as they weren't able to mount much of a comeback effort.

However, Northwestern did get on the board in the 8th inning when JR Reimer hit a two-run home run to left off Michigan's Jack Bredeson. That homer -- Reimer's 1st of the season -- cut the Wolverines' lead to 12-2. The Wildcats got another run across in the bottom of the 9th on a run-scoring Willie Bourbon groundout but that would be it.

Ramsay and Adcock's respective performances were the real story of the day, though, as they controlled both aspects of the game. Michigan's early lead, provided by Ramsay, was held with ease thanks to Adcock, who struck out 8 Wildcats in his 6 innings of work.

Northwestern and Michigan both have tomorrow off before reconvening on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm CST to wrap up this series. Before the finale, there will be a re-opening ceremony at R+B Miller Park to commemorate the renovations made to the stadium in the offseason.

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Rain on their parade

In an apparent dig at student journalists covering the entirety of Friday's doubleheader, it started to pour at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park in the middle of the top half of the 7th inning, forcing a 9-minute rain delay. The delay didn't do much to slow down Michigan, though, as the Wolverines added two more runs in the inning.

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Matt Ramsey is really good

Ramsay's final line at the end of the day is as follows: 5-6, 3 HR, 7 RBI. In addition to the three homers, he added two singles, one of which added a run in the top of the 7th. The fact that he himself outhit Northwestern by three says it all about how locked in he was on Friday afternoon and how the day fared for the scuffling Wildcats.