Trailing 2-1 in its weekend series against Purdue, the best the Northwestern baseball team could hope for in the fourth game was a strong start.
With four runs scored off four first-inning hits in Sunday’s game at Rocky Miller Park, strong might be an understatement.
After winning 6-5 on Friday and then dropping a pair 8-3 and 6-0 on Saturday, the Wildcats (12-12, 5-5 Big Ten) found themselves in danger of losing their first conference series of the season.
Adding to the sticky situation, a freshman with only two collegiate games under his belt was penciled in as the starting pitcher.
But Dan Brauer’s inexperience didn’t seem to matter in NU’s 6-2 win over Purdue.
Brauer improved his record to 3-0 and dropped his ERA to 2.22 while striking out six and allowing nine hits. But Brauer is no stranger to pressure. His win against Ohio State on March 29 helped NU salvage a split in its series against the Buckeyes.
“Those are tough scenarios to come into,” NU coach Paul Stevens said. “He’s really showing people what we knew he had all along.”
But Brauer said he didn’t think he would have pitched seven innings without the stellar performance of his teammates in the field, especially junior David Gresky, who slid feet-first to catch a deep fly to center field in the top of the fifth inning.
“As long as you keep the pitch count low and are throwing enough strikes, they keep you in,” Brauer said. “I don’t think I did as much as our defense did in that pressure situation.”
Purdue’s defense started out slow on Sunday, as the Boilermakers (17-14, 6-6) saw four NU players score with only one out in the first inning. Gresky’s single to center field scored freshman Mark Ori. A wild pitch with the bases loaded brought sophomore Jon Mikrut home, and senior Ken Padgett’s single scored junior Dan Pohlman and Gresky. After one third of an inning, Purdue starter Jason Driscoll was replaced by Jay Buente.
NU added two more runs in the sixth inning after junior Josh Lieberman’s single brought in both Pohlman and Padgett.
Stevens said he was glad to end the weekend on the same positive note it began — with an NU win.
Friday’s game was close, with Purdue holding the early 1-0 lead in the second inning. But an Eric Roeder double and Gresky’s third homer of the season — a monsterous shot that barely stayed fair down the right field line —
