Baseball: Three things you have to pay attention to against the citadel

After Skipper of the second year, Ben Greenspan, his team has fallen back to 0.500 for a glowing 5-2 start of the best since 2003-leaded Northwestern after being swept by Duke. The wildcats troubled to contain the offensive of the Blue Devils and gave up 31 runs about the three-game span when Team No. 17 in the country in the early season that the Greenspan had to advance must make the movement.

The wildcats now have the chance to get their season back on the right track before diving into Big Ten Action. This weekend you will travel to Charleston, South Carolina to take over the citadel in a four-game series, including a Douleheader on Saturday. Here are three things that can be seen in the series of this weekend against the Bulldog.

Can the cats stabilize their bullpen?

In the season, the Pitching depth was an important question mark for northwest, but the first seven games may have delivered a false glimmer of hope. Outside a 19: 6 defeat against Long Beach State on the opening evening, the Wildcats pitching employee had no more than four runs in the next six games. However, these concerns returned to Duke, which led to the fact that the era of Northwestern. In the Big Ten, the wildcats now show a recurring problem with an ERA of 6.83 to order, especially on Bullpen problems, which played a key role in the last weekend.

In the first game, Wake Forest Transfer Crawford Wade brought the cats into a strong position, struck five and allowed three runs over four innings. When Greenspan pulled him, Northwestern had a lead of 4: 3. However, the bullpen immediately collapsed. Alex Grant released three runs in relief, while Carter Danz, Amar Tsengeg, Cole Mascott and Jack Grunkemeyer together to allow eight more and to transform a once competitive game into a 14-5 route.

After the loss of the opening series, the second game played frustratingly. The newcomer Matthew Kouser started strongly and only allowed three runs through five innings. However, the fatigue was used during his last frame when he allowed two more runs in the fifth. Greenspan replaced the Vanderbilt Transfer Sam Hliboki from New Jersey, who competed with a 4: 3 lead, but fought over the route and allowed three runs that Duke won a 6: 5 win. Once again, the Wildcats Bullpen proved to be their downfall.

While the wildcats go to their series against the citadel, their bullpen is facing a decisive test. With a strenuous schedule and big ten Play, this weekend threatens to find out whether the success in the early season in Northwestern was real or just a short Mirage before old fights appeared again. If the wildcats hope to take a serious run for their first NCAA tournament since 1957, it is no longer an option to support your relief pitching -it is a necessity.

Will Jackson Freeman come back on the right track?

After his Breakout -Freshman Campaign in 2024, in which he led the team with 39 RBIs and with Owen McELAfatrick for the team in Homeruns (11). He fell victim to a second break -in, with his performance drastically decreasing this season. In 35 bats he only recorded six goals and a Homerun and published a team 171 stroke average of 0.171.

His fights were recognizable in the Duke series, in which the former newcomer phenomenon hit a dark .091 and failed four times on the weekend. However, his lonely bright spot-a Homerun with two runs-however, offers a glimmer of hope that his slump may not last forever.

Now that the cats are preparing on the way to the south on this weekend, there is a big question: Can Greenspan Star find his swing a year ago? Even in 2024, when Northwestern stumbled into an 18-34 finish, Freeman was the undeniable face of the future-a one-man spark plug that the team kept away.

But even with a significantly improved roster this season, it is clear that Freeman's performance will determine the ceiling of this team. D1baseball identified him as a big ten view for the draft of 2026 MLB, but recognition alone will not be sufficient. If he can't turn things around, Greenspan can have a difficult decision to make his role as a team of three hoch strikers.

Can Matthew Kouser maintain his blazing hot start?

On the way to the season, an important act for Northwestern was who would appear in the starting trotation after Greenspan had lost several important starters, including Kyle Pothoff, Matt McClure, Luke Benneche and Nolan Morr. While several arms took the hill, none was more surprising or more effective than Matthew Kouser. The Freshman right-hander impressed last month and received Northwestern's first newcomer to the week in 2022 and appeared as a burgeoning star in the Wildcats pitching employee.

From his first start on the hill, the native of New Jersey was brilliant. In his northwestern debut, he brought a 4-3 victory over the state of Long Beach and threw six Innerings with two hit one run ball while he spoke to one. He pursued this with another strong performance against Fordham and led the cats to a dominant 9: 3 victory, while leaving three runs with eight goals and increasing his strike to three.

In his third career start, Kouser Northwestern has again enabled to win. Against Duke he threw five festivals and allowed four goals and three runs while he was two. When he went out, the wildcats had a 4: 3 lead, but Bullpen finally fights the game and was enough for the Blue Devils.

When the 'cats complete their last series in front of Big Ten Play, Kouser is faced with a crucial test – and proves that his earlier success is sustainable. With matchups against conference opponents Penn State and Illinois, who is based on, he will have little space for mistakes and the series of this weekend against the citadel make it an important opportunity to consolidate his status as Northwestern's ACE. A strong excursion would not only build on its impressive start, but also offer urgently needed stability for a pitching staff, which ended in the big ten last season with a 6.95 ERA. If the wildcats hope to deal with the top ten Big opponents, they need Kouser to establish themselves as one of the most reliable weapons of the conference.