ANN ARBOR, MICH. — What a difference a day can make.
Less than 24 hours after a 9-0 defeat that left them within a game of its tournament lives, the Wildcats came out with the fire of a team that had nothing to lose.
“Our backs were up against the wall,” starting pitcher George Kontos said. “I was definitely pumped.”
The same can be said of his teammates, as Northwestern (26-32, 22-12 Big Ten) took a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning against Purdue(31-27, 16-19) and went on to win 8-4.
The win kept the Cats’ tournament hopes alive and made Purdue the second team eliminated this year.
Every time the Boilermakers put something together offensively, the Cats had an answer.
After Purdue tied the game at one in the third, right fielder Antonio Mule hit a towering shot into the tress over the 400-foot sign in center field to lead off the fourth inning. Mule’s blast washis 10th on the year and spurred the Cats to a three-run inning.
“I saw the centerfielder going back kind of lazily, like he was going to camp under it,” Mule said. “Then I looked up and it was over the wall.”
When Purdue put up two runs in the fifth to cut NU’s lead to 4-3, a three-run eighth inning off Boilermakers reliever Chris Toneguzzi put the game out of reach. Toneguzzi, a Second-Team All-BigTen selection, had a 1.26 ERA going into the game and held the Cats scoreless in two innings in Purdue’s 3-0 win over NU last Saturday.
In Kontos’ last three starts, all losses, his hitters had provided a combined two runs in support of him.
“It’s kind of tough when he goes out there and pitches well and we can’t really support him,” Mule said. “We got some run support for him early and helped him be more comfortable out there (Friday).”
Kontos pitched a complete game and ended his four-game losing streak. After walking eight batters in his last two starts, Kontos issued no free passes to the Boilermakers.
Kontos said having the early lead helped him be “relaxed” instead of “panicked and desperate.”
“He showed you what he’s really made out of,” coach Paul Stevens said.
While the Cats defense was a liability in Thursday’s loss, the fielders also stepped it up behind Kontos against Purdue.
Third baseman Caleb Fields gloved an Eric Osborn bunt in the third inning and threw him out on the run. Second baseman Jake Owens ranged to his right to snag a ground ball and threw across his body to start a double play in the sixth.
“It’s nothing I didn’t expect,” said Stevens, who picked up his 500th career win at NU Friday.
The Cats will play Michigan at 4 p.m. Fridat after the hosts lost to Minnesota Friday morning. Both teams face elimination with a loss.
NU took three out of four from Michigan at the beginning of April.
Reach David Morrison at [email protected].
