O'Donnell and Farinelli lead 'Cats to doubleheader sweep of Michigan State

Ethan O'Donnell hit two solo home runs and Michael Farinelli gave up 1 run across 8 1/3 innings pitched as Northwestern shut down the Spartans' bats in game 2 of their Saturday doubleheader, 4-1.

Michael Farinelli followed Sean Sullivan's game 1 performance with a gem of his own in the 'Cats rubber match against Michigan State Saturday.

After Sullivan threw 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball, Farinelli kept the Spartans guessing all afternoon, as he induced weak contact time and again across 8 1/3 innings, giving up just 1 run on 7 hits with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts to earn his fourth win on the year (4-4).

At the plate, the Wildcats were paced by Ethan O'Donnell, who hit a pair of solo home runs--including one to lead off the bottom of the first for Northwestern--and Patrick Herrera, who went 1-3 with a RBI Single, run scored, stolen base and a hit-by-pitch for the 'Cats.

#CatsWin!!!
Farinelli's 8.1 IP and O'Donnell's 2 home runs help the 'Cats win game two, and with it clinch the series over the Spartans!

Game 3 set to start at 2:00PM tomorrow live on B1G Network.#GoCats | @NU_Sports pic.twitter.com/BTn9K3CRLO

— Northwestern Baseball (@NUCatsBaseball) April 23, 2022

"Man that's some good stuff coming off of last weekend where we weren't really playing our brand of baseball," said Ethan O'Donnell after the game."First game we really took it to 'em and the second game we really grinded it out and I got to give a shout out to Michael Farinelli and Sean Sullivan, they did a hell of a job out on the mound today."

With their two wins Saturday, the Wildcats are now 11-1 on the year at home.

Here's how the action happened in game 2:

Farinelli worked around a 2-out double from Jack Frank to keep Michigan State off the board in the top of the first, and Ethan O’Donnell led off the bottom half of the inning with a home run that bounced off of Welsh-Ryan Arena in right field to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead.

Farinelli cruised through the next 2 innings, retiring Michigan State in order during the second and third.

Alex Calarco reached base and advanced to second after a throwing error by Spartans pitcher Conner Tomasic on a routine grounder to the right side of the pitcher's mound. 

Tony Livermore followed Calarco with a bunt single to put runners at first and third with 1 out. Next, Herrera continued his nice afternoon at the plate with a single deep in the hole at short to drive in Calarco, giving the ‘Cats a 2-0 lead.

Farinelli surrendered his second hit of the afternoon on a Trent Farquhar single to lead off the top of the fourth, but was able to escape the inning without giving up a run thanks to some snazzy pitching and his catcher's arm behind home plate.

After striking out Jack Frank looking for out no. 1, catcher Bennett Markinson sniped the lead runner in a double steal attempt for the second out of the inning. Farinelli then induced a weak pop up to shallow centerfield from Bryce Broecker to end the inning unscathed.

"He probably saved us there a bit in the second game," said Northwestern interim head coach Josh Reynolds after the game. "They had guys first and second--one out--and they run the double steal and Bennett nabs the guy at third, that's a big play and who knows what happens if they get second and third in that situation."

O'Donnell hit his second home run of the day with two outs in the bottom half of the fourth to give Northwestern a 3-0 lead.

Farinelli breezed his way through the fifth and sixth innings, surrendering just one single to Mitch Jebb before the 'Cats gave him another insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth.

Patrick Herrera was hit by a pitch with 1 out, then proceeded to steal second before Anthony Calarco drove him in on a two-out single to left-center to give Northwestern a 4-0 lead.

Jebb got to Farinelli one more time in the 8th inning, as he ended Northwestern's shutout with a two-out solo home run the opposite way to inch Michigan State a little closer to Northwestern, 4-1 by the end of the inning.

The Spartans made it interesting at the end of the game, as they chased Farinelli after Casey Mayes hit a ground-rule double to right field and Broecker walked on 4 pitches with one out.

Beshears came in from right field to relieve Farinelli and promptly struck out Peter Ahn and got pinch hitter Brock Vradenburg to fly out to center field to end the game.

"I thought guys competed really well in the box today and then on the mound our guys did a wonderful job of keeping us in the game and giving us a chance," Reynolds said. "So tomorrow we're looking for the same thing."

Northwestern takes the field at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park for their series finale against the Michigan State Spartans tomorrow at 2 PM CST.

----

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @SIWildcatsDaily

Twitter - @SIWildcatsDaily and Eli Ong at @ThePenOfEli