What a difference an inning makes.
Hosting Michigan State this weekend at Rocky Miller Park, the Northwestern men’s baseball team played some of its best ball of the season – except for one inning.
The Wildcats (8-15, 2-5 Big Ten) posted an impressive 6-3 victory Friday and came up a couple of key hits short in a 3-1 loss early Saturday afternoon.
But in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Spartans (19-6, 4-3) took advantage of several NU mistakes for a seven-run fourth inning and cruised to a 9-1 victory.
The series was then cut short when rain forced the two teams to cancel Sunday’s series finale.
“We need to take care of each individual phase of the game,” NU coach Paul Stevens said. “We need to play a lot more like we did in the the first game and not like how we played the third game.”
In the series opener, the Cats played flawless defense and swung the bats well. Facing 2001 Freshman All-American Bryan Gale, NU had five hits and sent nine hitters to the plate in a five-run sixth inning.
First baseman Travis Tharp knocked in the first two runs of the inning with a double. Tharp went 2-for-2 on the day with two runs and two RBIs. Cats leadoff man Steve Haake capped the rally with a two-strike, two-out single to left field.
“It was a great team win,” senior pitcher Gabe Ribas said. “They pitched some real good pitchers and we put up six runs. That’s a sign of us being aggressive and swinging the bats well.”
Ribas kept his team in the game with seven strong innings on the mound. The senior used his off-speed pitch, scattering six hits and three earned runs, to improve his record to 3-2.
As well as Ribas pitched, freshman J.A. Happ bettered the senior’s effort in relief. Happ threw two perfect innings to close the door on the Spartans and record his third save. Happ’s scoreless inning streak reached 16. He has not allowed a run in his collegiate career.
“Gabe goes out and throws tremendous, and Happ comes in and throws even better,” Stevens said. “I’m very pleased with how the entire team played (Friday). The defense did what they were supposed to, and offensively we got some key hits.”
Timely hitting led to a win on Friday, but offense was nowhere to be found for NU on Saturday. The Cats lost a pitchers’ duel in Game 2 and stranded six runners on base, including two potentially game-tying runs in the seventh inning.
Junior catcher Ken Padgett hit his second double of the game, this one caroming off the top of the left-field fence, to ignite the late comeback.
“I can’t really say I’m satisfied, because we lost,” pitcher Ryan Bos said. “What we were lacking was clutch hits, and we had guys on base.”
Bos wasn’t pleased with the result despite yielding only three runs in a seven-inning complete game. The lefty ran into control problems in the third inning, and Michigan State capitalized on walks to score two runs.
The inning also included a controversial double steal in which the Cats felt the Michigan State batter interfered with Padgett’s throw to second. The runners were allowed to remain on second and third, and both later scored on a two-out hit.
“The call definitely changed the game because you play a lot differently when you are down 2-0 than when you are down 1-0,” Stevens said. “I thought (Bos) did a pretty doggone good job. It was a shame we weren’t able to capitalize on performances like that.”
Game 2 unraveled for the Cats after Michigan State scored seven runs in the fourth inning. Sophomore Dan Konecny’s four walks and two throwing errors forced NU to go to the bullpen.
Despite the disappointment, two Cats who had previously been struggling at the plate broke out of their slumps. Sophomore Dan Pohlman went 3-for-3 and made a diving catch in left field. Second baseman Eric Roeder went 3-for-4 and had NU’s lone RBI.
“That is not how Danny (Konecny) typically pitches. He’ll be fine,” Stevens said. “We’ve been banking on Pohlman and Roeder to come through, and hopefully they’re both back on track.”
Stevens and the Cats are pleased with their performance and are determined not to let one inning spoil their weekend.
“I take the best of the scenario and throw out the worst,” Stevens said. “We just need to learn from the experience and continue to make more plays both on offense and defense.”
