To Northwestern coach Paul Stevens, midweek games are a tune-up for the Wildcats’ chief concern – their drive for a Big Ten title.
“We’re trying to find different answers for different things and different situations that might occur over the weekend,” Stevens said. “Everybody that we’ve got, we’re finding a way to use. These games are extremely important for me to be able to get a gauge on where some people have come so far.”
So far this tactic has been working for the Cats (17-24, 14-6 Big Ten).
While NU is 0-3 in midweek games since the beginning of its conference season, it has won or split every weekend series against conference opponents.
The Cats have sandwiched losses to teams like Robert Morris and Valparaiso between wins over teams like Michigan, which has a 26-15 record and shares the conference lead with NU.
The Wolverines held a 96-21 edge over the Cats before NU went to Ann Arbor, Mich., and took three out of four in April.
“Our overall record is not going to affect whether we get an NCAA berth or not, because pretty much we’re not going to go unless we win the Big Ten tournament,” pitcher Ryan Myers said. “We want to win every game, but we’re also trying to work on things in the midweek, as evident by our record.”
Myers said it was important to use the non-conference games to build toward conference play.
“Michigan’s staying with us every time,” he said. “We know they may not lose again, so we have to keep winning every game.”
One of the areas Stevens has been focusing on in non-conference contests is trying out younger players at different positions.
Freshman Tony Vercelli, who came to NU as a catcher, has seen action in right field, along with pulling backup duty behind the plate for junior Geoff Dietz.
“It was different at first, trying to get used to fly balls,” Vercelli said. “But I’ll play anywhere they want me to. I’ll keep working as hard as I would if I was catching.”
Vercelli appeared in three games last weekend against Iowa and went 3 for 7. Besides starting shortstop Tommy Finn, Vercelli has played in the most games out of the NU freshmen and is hitting .333 in 57 at-bats.
This week, the team’s non-conference test run is against Northern Illinois (21-23).
The Huskies are 12-10 all-time against the Cats, including a 10-5 victory last year.
“They always play us competitive,” Stevens said. “They strapped it on us last year pretty good early on in the game.”
For the second year in a row, the game will be held at Elfstrom Stadium, home of the Kane County Cougars, a minor league affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.
Stevens said playing in the 7,400-seat venue is a chance for both schools to get more exposure in the community.
“We can bring in more of a variety of people than we get for our home games or their home games,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it again.”
Reach David Morrison at [email protected].
