Down two runs to Michigan State in its opening game at the Big Ten tournament, the Northwestern baseball team knew exactly what it had to do – after all, it had been only three days since the the Wildcats were last in danger of losing a crucial game.
Continuing their recent trend of clutch victories, the sixth-seeded Cats (25-27) came back to beat the No. 3 seed Spartans 4-2 on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Senior Gabe Ribas pitched eight innings for NU and gave up just five hits to the best hitting team (.344 average) in the conference.
“I saw that he wanted the ball against the best team, and he thought he was the best pitcher to beat them,” NU head coach Paul Stevens said. “He never relinquished his mental tenacity.”
Michigan State (36-18) came into the matchup on a hot streak, having outscored Penn State 62-10 in its final Big Ten series. But Ribas dominated the Spartans’ sluggers – co-Big Ten player of the year Bob Malek went 0-for-4, and catcher Brady Burrill, who is hitting .407, was 1-for-4.
Michigan State put single runs on the board in the first and second innings, but the Spartans didn’t get a hit between the fourth and ninth frames.
The Cats’ offensive rally was reminiscient of Sunday’s 9-6 victory over Indiana. Like he did Sunday, second baseman Eric Roeder sparked the comeback with a leadoff home run. NU right fielder Brandon Ackley, who went 4-for-5, scored on a wild pitch later in the eighth inning.
“We needed a catalyst and just like last week the flood gates opened,” Ackley said of Roeder’s homer. “Base hits are contagious.”
The Cats got things going in the ninth with three consecutive singles. With the bases loaded, Tharp hit into a fielder’s choice, and Josh Lieberman was forced out at home. Then center fielder David Gresky got the game-winning RBI with a single that scored Roeder and Ackley.
The Cats had 12 hits in the game, most of them from the heart of the order as Roeder, Ackley, Tharp and Gresky combined for nine.
“Once again, this family showed character,” Stevens said. “Lieberman’s pinch hit to lead off the ninth and Gresky’s rocket up the middle to score two were huge.”
Ribas faced the first Spartans’ hitter in the bottom of the ninth, giving up a double before Jon Mikrut moved to the mound from short stop. The freshman forced a groundout, a flyout and a strikeout to end the game, throwing just 12 pitches. It was Mikrut’s fifth save in five opportunities.
“He believes he can get anyone in the country out,” Stevens said of Mikrut. “He did a fantastic job coming in and driving the nail into the coffin and slamming the door shut.”
Ribas’ eight innings on the hill were key as the Cats try to conserve pitching for the remaining games of the double-elimination tournament. Third-team All-Big Ten selection Ryan Bos will start today’s 7 p.m. matchup against top-seeded Minnesota (30-24) at Seibert Field, leaving Zach Schara as Friday’s probable starter.
NU has lost nine consecutive matchups against the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis, but the Cats are hoping their momentum will carry them today.
“We haven’t won at Minnesota since I’ve been here, but I’ll take one in 10 right now,” Ribas said. “I think we’re going to find a way to keep this going.”
notes: Throwing eight innings and recording seven strikeouts, Gabe Ribas became NU’s all-time leader in innings pitched and strikeouts. … Catcher Ken Pagdett was plunked in the eighth inning, tying NU’s single-season hit-by-pitch record at 13.
