EVANSTON, Ill. (Interstat) — Northwestern rallied from a six-run deficit to defeat Rutgers 7-6 on Friday evening at Rocky Miller Park. The Wildcats trailed 6-0 after the top of the third inning but scored seven unanswered runs, capped by Nick Barron’s solo home run in the bottom of the seventh.

Rutgers opened with three consecutive solo homers in the top of the third from Meglio, Krewson and Wells. Northwestern answered in the bottom half on Barron’s RBI single. Jackson Freeman’s two-run homer in the fourth made it 6-3. The Scarlet Knights extended their lead in the sixth on a solo homer by Sweeney and an RBI double from Wiltsey. Northwestern then tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run double by McElfatrick and a run-scoring groundout by Kaplan. Sweeney homered again for Rutgers in the top of the seventh, but Barron’s blast to left-center gave the Wildcats the win.

Both teams finished with 12 hits. Rutgers dropped to 25-28; Northwestern improved to 21-29-1. The series continues Saturday.