Facing the Valparaiso Crusaders on Tuesday, six Northwestern pitchers went on a little crusade of their own.
In pursuit of a no-hitter, the NU pitching committee threw 8 2/3 hitless innings before freshman J.A. Happ gave up a weak single to right field. But the shutout remained intact and the Wildcats (10-15) won 5-0.
“You can’t ask for much more than that,” NU head coach Paul Stevens said. “We asked them to get ahead of hitters early, and I thought they did an outstanding job with that.”
Dan Pohlman started on the mound for the Cats and threw two solid innings before being replaced by Zach Schara, who made his first appearance since fracturing a bone in his hand nearly one month ago. Though his speed was slightly off, Schara tallied a pair of strikeouts while keeping the no-hitter alive through the third and fourth innings.
“Zach’s not 100 percent,” Stevens said. “That’s why we didn’t get the (radar) gun out. But it’s a good thing to get him out there before the weekend.”
Schara said he didn’t experience any pain while pitching, but he
doesn’t have full range of motion in his pinky finger.
After Schara’s stint, Stanley Finch took the mound for NU. Finch pitched a three-up, three-down fifth inning and a strong sixth before classmate Evan Blesoff took over and threw only seven pitches in the hitless seventh.
Gabe Ribas threw nine pitches in the eighth, forcing Valparaiso’s first batter of the inning to ground out, then striking out the next two batters.
Happ, the Cats’ freshman ace who has yet to give up a run in his 17-inning collegiate career, struck out the first batter in the ninth, but a wild pitch on the third strike put the batter on first base. Happ then retired the next two batters, but Crusaders right fielder Jeff Mandsager slapped a blooper into right field to break up the no-hitter.
Right fielder Brandon Ackley caught the ball on one hop and gunned it to first base in an effort to force out Mandsager – Schara called the play “beautiful” – but the Crusaders’ right fielder beat the throw by a step. Following the play, NU head coach Paul Stevens made a trip to the mound.
“You saw (Happ’s) head drop (after the hit),” Stevens said. “And I just told him, it’s not your fault. You did your job – you can’t give guys four outs an inning.”
The NU pitchers were backed by solid defense, particularly from shortstop Jon Mikrut, who had six assists.
Coming off a weekend when they outhit Michigan State 26-23 but won only one of three games, the Cats’ main goal Tuesday was to get clutch hits.
That’s exactly what they did in the bottom of the second, when center fielder Steve Haake hit a two-out, two-RBI triple. Second baseman Eric Roeder then laid down a perfect bunt toward third to score Haake and reach base, as well. Next up was Ackley, who beat out a roller to short.
Left fielder David Gresky’s grounder to second ended the inning, but not before the Cats got three hits and scored three runs, all with two outs.
Stevens said he was “very pleased” with the performances of Haake, Gresky and Pohlman at the plate Tuesday.
“Good teams score with two outs,” Stevens said. “If we did that Saturday in the first game (against Michigan State), we win. That’s the difference – the two-out base hits are huge.”
