The Northwestern baseball team trailed for 17 of the 19 innings played in Monday’s doubleheader with Michigan.
But the Wildcats were on top when it mattered most.
In both games the Cats (21-25, 12-13 Big Ten) came from behind to defeat the Wolverines (17-30, 11-16) in their final at-bats, winning 2-1 and 5-4 at Rocky Miller Park.
“These two games were as good of games you are going to see,” NU coach Paul Stevens said. “I’m really proud of these guys, and they demonstrated tremendous mental fortitude.”
The two victories had major playoff implications for the Cats. NU started the day in ninth place in the Big Ten, but went home sitting alone in fifth place. The top six teams qualify for the conference tournament.
The Cats’ victories coupled with a 2-0 Indiana loss to Purdue put them .002 percentage points ahead of the Hoosiers, who conclude their series against Purdue with a doubleheader today in Bloomington, Ind.
“These two games were huge for us and we had our backs against the wall,” NU junior right fielder Brandon Ackley said. “We put ourselves in these tough situations, and we’re lucky that we got a chance to play these games today.”
The teams scheduled the two seven-inning games on Monday because Saturday’s doubleheader and Sunday’s contest were rained out. Big Ten rainouts are not usually rescheduled, but since Michigan has already finished the academic year, it received permission from the conference to stay in Evanston for the extra day.
“I’m very pleased with our administration because they gave us the chance to play,” Stevens said. “We were able to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity that they provided for us.”
NU capitalized and proved it could win two tight ballgames. The Cats were 2-5 in one-run Big Ten games before Monday’s victories.
Game 1 featured last week’s co-Big Ten Pitchers of the Week, NU’s Ryan Bos and Michigan’s Rich Hill. The two pitchers continued to baffle battles, and the game remained scoreless until the fifth inning, when Michigan’s Jordan Cantalamessa hit a solo home run.
The Cats trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but they rallied to score two runs. Following a walk and a hit batsman, left fielder Dan Pohlman tied the game with a double. The game then ended with a bases-loaded walk to Steve Haake that forced in Ken Padgett from third.
“This is the best we have played all year, and we knew we needed to win both games,” Padgett said. “We got those two runs in the final inning of the first game, and the momentum really carried over to the second game.”
In Game 2, NU provided some offensive support to starting pitcher Gabe Ribas, who allowed four runs in seven innings. Trailing 4-1, Ackley belted a two-run double and later scored the tying run on a two-out wild pitch.
Both teams failed to convert prime scoring opportunities, and the game headed into extra innings. Taking the mound in the eighth, NU freshman J.A. Happ tossed five scoreless innings.
In the 11th inning, both teams’ second basemen denied the opposition a great scoring chance. NU’s Eric Roeder made a full-extension leaping catch on a hard line drive and then doubled up a Michigan baserunner at second to end the threat.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, Cantalamessa made a diving stop in front of second base on Josh Lieberman’s grounder. Cantalamessa stepped on the bag, then whipped the ball to first for the double play.
But in the end, Padgett took all of Michigan’s fielders out of play, blasting a walk-off home run on the first pitch he saw in the 12th.
“I was sitting on a fastball and I jumped on it,” he said. “I had been slumping and it made up for all my mistakes.”
Padgett’s heroics secured the win for Happ and gave more credence to one of baseball’s oldest superstitions.
“Zach (Schara) asked me if we should put on our rally caps before the 12th and I said ‘Yes,'” Ribas said. “We decided we should do the shark fin caps, and we should start wearing them more often.”
NU hopes to keep its momentum going in today’s 3 p.m. contest against Illinois-Chicago at Rocky Miller Park.
