It was probably the most important game of J.A. Happ’s young career.
The Northwestern baseball team’s ace was set to face pitcher Glen Perkins, a Minnesota sophomore with All-American status and with a Big Ten Freshman of the Year award under his belt.
With the amateur draft coming up in June, this was the day for Happ to strut his stuff before a stage of more than 50 drooling scouts.
But by the time Friday’s game against the Golden Gophers ended, Happ was devastated.
The Wildcats (16-19-1, 6-10 Big Ten) were blown away by Perkins and the Gophers (22-15, 10-6) by a score of 9-1.
“It’s really disappointing for me,” the junior starter said after the loss. “I’ve probably never been this disappointed. It was a really big game for me to try to prove myself. I don’t know what else I can say.”
Happ’s numbers said it all. In just five innings of work, the left-hander gave up five earned runs on 10 hits.
More importantly, Happ required 107 pitches to escape the five innings of misery. Just 19 more pitches earned him a complete nine-inning shutout against Indiana on April 2.
Obviously Happ was lacking the efficiency that gave him 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings, 24th in the country, before Friday’s game.
“He had trouble throwing strikes,” Perkins said. “He walked a couple of guys. He was falling behind, and there’s a big difference between 0-1 and 1-0. You have to be able to get ahead and he didn’t get ahead.”
Happ’s problems began with his first throw of the day, an outside ball to Minnesota’s left-handed Sam Steidl. The count grew to 3-2 and Happ, in unusual form, walked the leadoff man on a low, outside pitch.
Steidl and first baseman Mike Mee scored on an RBI single down the leftfield line by shortstop Matt Fornasiere. The Gophers came out of the first inning with a 2-0 lead, enough to secure a victory.
“I know he was competing as hard as he could,” NU coach Paul Stevens said. “I know that he was giving us everything that he had. It just wasn’t his day.”
Stevens hinted that the “hoopla” surrounding the duel with Perkins might have affected Happ’s performance. But Happ didn’t think so.
“I don’t have any excuses,” Happ said. “I just wasn’t comfortable and I wasn’t throwing strikes. There’s no excuse for that. I’ve pitched out here several times.”
If Friday’s contest did prove anything, it’s that Perkins is a contender for another All-America nod.
The southpaw threw eight innings, giving up no earned runs and just four hits. Perkins was quick to get ahead in the count, and he handled the eight innings with 118 pitches.
“Getting ahead is the key,” Perkins said. “If you’ve got two strikes on them, they have to play defense. It puts you in a good situation, and you get strikeouts.”
Perkins picked up eight strikeouts in a performance that impressed Stevens.
“I think the young man can throw,” Stevens said. “I think the young man has an outstanding arm, and he definitely deserves all of the accolades
that he’s getting, that’s for sure.”
