BASEBALL

After Northwestern’s season-ending 6-2 loss to Michigan State on Sunday, the Wildcats stood on the field as autograph-seeking kids swarmed the players.

Friends and family members walked among the Cats, offering their congratulations.

And amid it all, three unsung veterans stood on the Rocky Miller Park turf one last time, getting their final taste of NU baseball.

“I just felt that these guys were basically entitled to an opportunity to just sit there and experience something,” NU coach Paul Stevens said of walk-ons Julian Romero, Reid Simpson and Luke Sundheim, each of whom saw rare action on their final baseball weekend.

Simpson, a junior who said he may not make the team next year, started in center field Sunday. He doubled and scored a run.

Sundheim, a senior, started at first base Sunday. He went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts, but made some trademark snags on his final day.

And Romero, also a senior, did not start but pinch hit in the final two games of the series. In Saturday’s second game, Romero singled with the bases loaded, driving in two runs in the Cats’ 10-4 win.

All three played similar roles throughout their careers despite coming from starkly different backgrounds. They often would do the Cats’ dirty work — throwing batting practice, hitting ground balls to fielders and tracking down foul balls sprayed to all corners of Rocky Miller Park.

“Getting foul balls kind of helps you stay ready, especially if you are pinch hitting,” said Romero, who came to NU from Albuquerque. “You’ve got to make sure you’re always ready to get in the game.”

But they didn’t get into many games, combining for only 50 career at-bats and four starts.

Still, they said they felt every bit a part of the team and will miss the camaraderie when they move on from NU.

“The guys are incredible,” said Sundheim, a Glencoe, Ill., native who transferred from Drexel two years ago after its baseball program folded. ” That’s what I’ll miss the most.”

“We’re so close,” said Simpson, who transferred this year from Southwestern University. “That’s the big thing with our team.”

At the end of the day, an emotional Stevens praised his outgoing players. He said he’d talked to them about believing in themselves and never giving up — qualities he said were exhibited by Romero, Simpson and Sundheim.

And because of all their work, they got one last chance to show their stuff at NU.

“It was a lot of fun,” Simpson said. “I’ll never forget it.”

Reach Patrick Dorsey at [email protected].