After a demoralizing shutout loss in the first game of a doubleheader in Bloomington, Indiana, the Wildcats gave the Hoosiers all the trouble they could handle in the second game of the series.

Despite an impressive outing for Northwestern starting pitcher Hank Christie, the ‘Cats dropped a heartbreaker, 6-3, on Friday night to the #10 Indiana Hoosiers.

Indiana’s offense exploded late in the game, with four hits and five runs scored in just the eighth inning, ousting the Wildcats’ 3-1 lead. Relief pitchers Richard Fordon and Josh Levy earned a combined five runs in the forgettable frame.

Christie looked confident throughout the six innings he pitched, allowing only three hits and one run with six strikeouts. The sophomore pitcher faced difficult situations on multiple different occasions during his start, as Indiana continuously pressured him. The Hoosiers loaded the bases in the bottom of the third and fourth inning, but Christie was able to pitch out of both jams successfully.

Hank Christie gets a pop out to get out of ANOTHER BASES LOADED JAM.

T5 | #B1GCats 2, IU 1 pic.twitter.com/ZDpLA4minj

— Northwestern Baseball (@NUCatsBaseball) April 14, 2018

While most of their sharp liners and fly balls repeatedly found the gloves of Indiana fielders, the Wildcats were still able to get hits in a few important situations. In the top of the third inning, shortstop Jack Dunn doubled and was knocked in by Alex Erro for Northwestern’s second run of the game. Five innings later in the top of the eighth, catcher Jack Claeys just missed a home run on a double off the left field wall that scored Dunn for the third and final run of the game for the ‘Cats. Overall, the Wildcats had seven hits as a team, including a three-hit, three-run showing by Dunn and two RBIs from Claeys.

The Wildcats will have a chance to make up for both of Friday’s losses in the final game of the series against the Hoosiers Saturday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Central Time. Tune in here for the call of the game: http://mixlr.com/wnur-sports/.