By Jake Simpson The Daily Northwestern
With less than a month left in the regular season, Northwestern is halfway home with its Big Ten schedule.
And if the Wildcats continue their inconsistent play, they will indeed be home when their season ends, while the conference's best teams compete in the Big Ten tournament.
Heading into this weekend's four-game series against Iowa, NU sits 4.5 games behind the Hawkeyes for sixth place in the conference.
Only the top six teams in the Big Ten qualify for the postseason tournament, the winner of which receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
With only 16 conference games remaining, the Cats have their work cut out for them.
"To get in the tournament, we probably have to finish with a .500 league record," senior pitcher Dan Schwartz said. "To do that, we need to go 13-3 in the next four series. That means we have to sweep one team and go 3-1 in the other three series. So we need to win now."
The Cats' season has been characterized by a frustrating inconsistency. NU has displayed flashes of last season's execution, when it finished second in the Big Ten with a 21-11 conference record. But for every timely hit or strong relief outing, there has been a baserunning blunder or a costly error, mistakes that have cost NU dearly.
Coach Paul Stevens said the team's relative inexperience - NU features three freshmen in its lineup and two in its starting rotation - has led to some poor execution.
"Youth is always a factor," he said. "In any situation, experience is going to be key."
NU's pitchers have been especially prone to inconsistent play. The Cats' bullpen, which has four freshmen, has an ERA of 10.00 and has blown late-innings leads in each of the past two series. Last Friday against Penn State, NU coughed up a 6-3 ninth-inning lead, with the last three runs scored off three different relievers.
Stevens stressed the importance of good pitching over good hitting.
"Hitting is always going to be up and down," he said. "We need consistency from our pitching and our defense."
The Cats' offense has been up and down recently, with several of the starters getting in and out of slumps over the past two weeks. But overall, NU's offense has struggled, averaging 3.6 runs per game in Big Ten play after averaging 6.2 runs per contest in the non-conference season.
Junior Antonio Mulé said the team is just a couple of feet away from an offensive resurgence.
"A lot of times we've been crushing the ball and it's been going right to fielders," he said. "We've been making good contact."
This weekend's games against Iowa will serve as a key test for the Cats. Last season NU took three of four from the Hawkeyes. They will need at least three wins in this series to claw their way back into the race for the Big Ten tournament.
Despite the need for a strong series, the standings are the furthest thing from Stevens' mind. He said he just wants to see his team improve.
"If you look too far ahead, you tend to get your legs cut out from under you," he said. "We need to keep our feet firmly on the ground right now."
Reach Jake Simpson at james-simpson@northwestern.edu.
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