Northwestern freshman pitcher Chris Davidson got his first collegiate start in NU’s home opener against Chicago State on Tuesday. Not only did the lefty get the loss, he didn’t even get an entire inning under his belt.
Davidson gave up four early runs before being replaced by freshman Evan Blesoff two outs into the first inning. But NU’s pitching staff continued to struggle throughout the game as five NU pitchers, including three freshmen, took the mound in the Cats’ 15-12 loss at Rocky Miller Park.
“I was expecting (Davidson) to put us in a position to make plays, which he did not do,” NU head coach Paul Stevens said. “I wasn’t exactly pleased with Mr. Blesoff either – he has got to get leadoff men out. We wanted Blesoff and Davidson to get us through most of the game, but we had to go to two guys (sophomore Jason Krynski and freshman Chris Hayes) who haven’t thrown much.”
NU (7-13) turned to senior Andy “Ace” Adams, who showed maturity in the ninth, giving up just one hit and no runs.
“Ace, at the end, did a great job,” Stevens said. “But we didn’t really want to throw him.”
Stevens said NU would have preferred to keep Adams fresh for the weekend Big Ten games, but the Cats’ pitching staff is wearing thin after three games against Ohio State on Saturday. The loss of senior Zach Schara, who is out with a broken hand, also hurts NU’s starting rotation.
“The Big Ten makes or breaks us, but why go .500 in (nonconference Tuesday games) when we should win every single one?” first baseman David Gresky said.
Chicago State’s early lead continued to grow – the Cougars (2-11) led 14-2 after a disastrous top of the sixth inning that included seven Cougars runs on three hits. Torrence Profit, Chicago State’s leadoff man, hit a grand slam off Hayes in his second at-bat of the inning.
The Cats struggled offensively against the Cougars’ starting pitcher, whose slower speed threw off NU’s timing, Gresky said.
“I wasn’t pleased with the offense early,” Stevens said. “The speed was a challenge, but good hitters make adjustments.”
The Cats put together a rally in the bottom of the sixth when left fielder Dan Pohlman walked to load the bases. Shortstop Jon Mikrut hit a sacrifice fly to drive in a run, at which point the Cougars brought in a new pitcher.
Pinch hitter Matt Thompson followed with a double down the third base line to drive in another run, and Haake then hit a double to shallow right field for two RBIs.
The four-run inning put the Cats back in the game, and an altered NU defensive lineup with Hayes on the mound shut down Chicago State in the top of the seventh.
“Late in the game we finally started to hit like we should,” said Gresky, who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. “All of a sudden it was starting to get dark – to be honest I’m surprised we got in all nine. Once we settled down we were just like, this is bullshit. We should have just blown this team out of the water.”
But in the eighth inning Profit again came through for the Cougars, hitting an RBI double, bringing the score to 15-7.
In the bottom of the seventh, second baseman Eric Roeder’s RBI and Gresky’s three-run home run contributed to the Cats’ late run.
Pohlman led off the final inning with a solo shot, but the Cats’ efforts were not enough as center fielder Steve Haake and Roeder both grounded out to end the game.
NU played its home opener after a Spring Break trip to Florida and its Big Ten opener against Ohio State.
The Cats beat Harvard twice over the break, led by strong pitching from Ryan Bos and Gabe Ribas. Junior Travis Tharp led the Cats with a three-run home run in the first inning of NU’s 5-3 loss to defending national champion Miami, a game that the Hurricanes won with two unanswered runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The Cats went 1-3 against Ohio State, winning the final game of Saturday’s tripleheader. The Cats are back in Big Ten action this weekend against Michigan State.
