Any team with two dominating starting pitchers is a serious title contender – just look at the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Northwestern baseball team doesn’t have Randy Johnson or Curt Schilling, but the Wildcats do have the luxury of sending seniors Zach Schara and Gabe Ribas to the mound.

“Zach and Gabe proved they are definitely tremendous competitors,” NU coach Paul Stevens said. “And good pitching shuts down good hitting every day of the week.”

The two right-handed hurlers have combined to throw more than 500 innings in the past three seasons for the Cats (2-5), and both have earned All-Big Ten honors.

They’ve done it with distinctly different styles.

Schara likes to attack hitters with a deceptive array of breaking balls, while Ribas consistently throws strikes, forcing batters to put the ball in play.

“The two have lots of knowledge, and when all is said and done, they will preform,” Stevens said.

Stevens has two other quality starters and a reliable closer to complement his pair of aces. Senior Ryan Bos started 11 games last season, and in his 2002 debut he yielded only one run in eight innings against Washington.

Last year’s closer, sophomore Dan Konecny, will leave the bullpen and become the Cats’ fourth starter this season. Fellow sophomore Dan Pohlman, who spent his fall chasing down Big Ten running backs for NU, will be the man Stevens calls on to protect the lead in the late-innings.

“Danny (Konecny) may have the best stuff on the staff, with a 90-plus mile per hour fastball and tremendous mechanics,” Stevens said. “When (Pohlman) gets on the mound he has ice water in his veins. He is nasty on the mound and nothing bothers him.”

NU has an experienced pitching staff, but the team has a hole to fill behind the plate after the graduation of Joe Hietpas, a second-team All-Big Ten selection and 16th-round draft pick of the New York Mets.

Junior Ken Padgett has backed up Hietpas the past two seasons and will fill the void at catcher. The versatile Padgett saw significant action on the left side of the infield last year, and he started a total of 39 games at catcher, shortstop and third base.

“Ken has quick feet, a good arm and he has worked with the pitchers a lot the past couple of years,” Stevens said. “Ken will be much better on offense than Joe and will get as good on defense.”

Padgett’s bat is needed in a lineup that finished ninth in the Big Ten last year in runs scored.

But Stevens is returning the top six hitters from NU’s 2001 lineup.

“We don’t have the world’s best hitters,” he said. “We don’t have (Barry) Bonds or Ichiro (Suzuki), but the experience of last year will really help us.”

Sophomores Jason Krynski and David Gresky are hoping to build on their impressive freshman campaigns. Krynski batted .300 in 32 games, and Gresky tied for the the team lead with 56 hits.

The Cats hope their seasoned upperclassmen will provide a spark at the top of the lineup. Lead-off man Steve Haake started 45 games in center last season, and his speed is an asset on the basepaths.

Junior Eric Roeder will help Haake set the table for NU. Roeder had 56 hits last season and led the team in runs and RBIs.

“We are not a power-laden team, so we have to do the little things to score runs,” Stevens said. “It is key that we can bunt, hit-and-run and run the bases effectively.”

The Cats know they need to improve their offense, but they’re looking for Ribas and Schara to carry them through the 2002 season.

“I have two hungry Cats on my hands, and they will be in the position to devour some individuals,” Stevens said.

“If the big two click on the mound, the team will click.”