VALPARAISO, Ind. – Tell a starting pitcher in the majors to work on three days rest with any regularity and he’ll probably demand a trade before the week is over.
But when Northwestern baseball coach Paul Stevens asked junior Zach Schara to work on short rest, Schara jumped at the chance.
Schara, who started Friday against Illinois, threw six innings and fanned seven batters as the Wildcats (12-16) defeated Valparaiso 10-5 Tuesday at windy Emory Bauer Field, giving NU consecutive wins for the first time since Spring Training,
“My arm felt good today, ” Schara said. “It’s the start of a new pattern that’s fine with me. It’s something that’s going to be implemented in my rotation. It’s not like I’m going out there to pitch a complete game.”
Working on three days rest – the first time Schara has done that this season – is something that starting pitchers usually don’t thrive on. They often require at least four days to fully rest after a long outing. But it didn’t seem to faze Schara (4-3) or his arm. He went seven innings on Friday in a 5-2 loss and held the Crusaders to one earned run Tuesday.
The Crusaders (9-12) had a hard time just throwing and catching the ball for much of the game, making even the most routine plays look difficult. Six of NU’s first seven runs were unearned, and Valparaiso committed four errors, including one with two outs in the sixth that blew the game open for the Cats.
After NU pinch hitter Todd Morgan led the sixth inning off with a walk, rightfielder Jason Krynski moved him to second on a single to left field. NU then pulled off a successful double steal. Valparaiso starter Justin Lata retired the next two batters, but NU catcher Joe Hietpas followed with a lazy fly ball to shallow right field that Brian Wolotka watched bounce off his glove – his second drop – allowing both Morgan and Krynski to score.
Designated hitter David Gresky and leadoff man Eric Roeder followed with singles to score Hietpas and give the Cats a 7-1 lead.
With the game seemingly in hand, the Crusaders made it interesting in the eighth, scoring three runs on three hits off reliever Dan Konecny to cut NU’s lead to two. But Andy Adams pitched a perfect ninth to close out the win for Stevens and the Cats.
Perhaps most encouraging for NU as it continues its Big Ten conference schedule this weekend against Purdue is that its pitching, hitting and fielding all came together on the same day for the first time since Spring Training. Schara, who is making a name for himself as the squad’s ace, had command of all his pitches Tuesday afternoon.
“Right now Zach needs the work,” Stevens said. “He didn’t exactly look like a first-team All-Big Ten pitcher (early in the game). Toward the end, I thought he had the stuff of old.”
Defensively, the Cats used their fourth different infield in five games. NU made several sparkling plays and consistently fielded the easy ones, something it hasn’t done in the past week. Sophomore Ken Padgett is looking more comfortable with every start at shortstop, as was evident Tuesday when he went deep in the hole to rob Valparaiso designated hitter Tom Magnetti of a hit in the fourth inning.
A potentially scary mishap occurred in the second inning, when Hietpas and third baseman Wes Robinson collided while going for a foul ball. Both remained on the ground for several minutes before the coaching and training staff checked their eyes for signs of a concussion. The two stayed in the game, and Stevens said they will be fine.
Gresky led the Cats offensively, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and an RBI. Eight of the nine NU starters reached base safely.
The Cats did have trouble with Valparaiso’s 6-foot-10 left-hander, Kyle Cummings. The reliever held NU hitless in two innings of work.
“Our guys were wondering how much they had to pay for that uniform … that’s a lot of material,” Stevens said. “That’s a large individual coming at you.”
But the performance of Valparaiso’s lanky reliever couldn’t dig the Crusaders out of the initial hole they dug for themselves.
“The errors they made actually turned into big plays for us,” Schara said. “It was cool to see things just go our way today.”
