Baseball

In the 11th inning of a 2-2 game against Penn State on April 8, freshman center fielder Aaron Newman hit a one-out single. After advancing to third because of an errant throw by the catcher attempting to throw out Newman stealing second, he scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly.

Coach Paul Stevens said having base-stealing threats like Newman on the base paths creates many ideal situations for the rest of the team.

“Hitters behind those guys are going to see a lot more fastballs,” Stevens said. “Pitchers are a lot more aware of what’s going on and they lose focus on the hitter because they’re worried about the runner.”

Newman converted his first 14 attempts this season and has stolen bases in 14 of 16 tries, good for eighth in the Big Ten.

“It comes with a lot of practice reading a lot of guys because a big part of it is getting a good jump,” Newman said. “It doesn’t matter how fast you are. I know a lot of guys that aren’t as fast as me, but they get great jumps and they steal a lot of bases.”

Stevens said depending on the situation, he sometimes gives Newman and freshman Jake Owens, who is 7 for 8 on the year, free reign when it comes to base running. But other times, he said, he likes to maintain control.

Newman said the decision begins in the dugout when opposing pitchers are timed to see how fast they get the ball to the plate.

“If it’s a slow time, it doesn’t matter how good the arm of the catcher has,” Newman said. “I’m going to get a good jump and be able to steal a base.”

The Palatine, Ill., native said he also tries to make it difficult for a pitcher to realize when he is about to steal a base.

“A big thing is to make it look like you’re not going to steal a base,” Newman said. “So I don’t get a big lead or do little things like that. If they see you’re doing anything different, they’re going to pitch out on you or just try and do something different to try and throw you out.”

Base-stealing threats like Newman put a burden on the pitcher and catcher. The battery must try to avoid allowing runners to get into scoring position easily.

Senior pitcher Evan Blesoff said he usually has a good idea who on the other team will try to steal and makes sure he does not become predictable and allow runners to advance. He said it’s a frustrating feeling if a runner steals a base on him.

“You do what you can,” Blesoff said. “I do a lot to try and prevent them from going just by throwing at a slide-step instead of coming up. If they steal it, good for them.”

Junior catcher Pat McMahon said from the catcher’s perspective, trying to throw out a runner is a matter of making a consistent throw every time.

“As long as I make a good throw, I’m happy,” McMahon said. “If a guy throws off a pitcher, there’s not much I can do about that.”

Newman stole 48 bases his senior year at Palatine High School. He said his goal coming into this season was to steal as many bases as he could. But that has changed.

“I’m trying to get to 30,” Newman said. “I want to steal every time I get on base. That’s how I’m approaching it now.”

Reach Abe Rakov at [email protected].