Mackenzie Mccluer/The Daily Northwestern
CHICAGO – Head down. Barrel drops into the zone. Tremendous balance. Extends through the ball.
That’s how coach Paul Stevens described senior designated hitter Tony Vercelli’s game-changing swing.
As the ball landed 30 feet over the left field wall, Vercelli blasted his second home run of the game, and Northwestern had all the runs it needed for a 5-1 defeat of Notre Dame at U.S. Cellular Field, home of the White Sox, Wednesday evening.
“On the bus, they were overwhelmed just walking in the front door of this place,” Stevens said. “They’ve been battling all year and have just come up a little short, and tonight all their hard work, persistence and attitude paid off.”
The Wildcats (9-23) jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead when sophomore third baseman Chris Lashmet hit a double down the left field line, plating freshman Trevor Stevens in the top of the first inning. Stevens set an aggressive tone for NU, reaching base on a push bunt that caught the Notre Dame infield offguard.
After a lead-off walk by senior outfielder Jim Grieco in the third inning, senior shortstop Tommy Finn got the offense going again. His hit-and-run single to right field moved Grieco to third base, allowing Stevens to drive in the run on another single to right.
After Fighting Irish starter Ryan Richter walked Lashmet, the Cats had a perfect opportunity, with the bases loaded and no outs. But Vercelli, freshman first baseman Paul Snieder and junior catcher Chad Noble all came up empty, stranding three runners on base.
After shutting out Notre Dame (20-13) for four straight innings and allowing only one hit, sophomore starter Eric Jokisch allowed the first two batters of the fifth to reach base on singles. But Jokisch was able to hold off the Irish, leaving after five innings and allowing no walks, no runs and only four hits.
“He’s got a really good command in his change-up,” Notre Dame coach Dave Schrage said. “He’s not going to walk people, so you’ve got to earn everything against him. … We knew we had a challenge with him on the mound tonight.”
The Cats got another chance with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. Lashmet, who leads NU in hitting with a .322 average, made solid contact on a line drive to center, but left three runners stranded once again.
Heading into the seventh with a slim 2-0 lead, NU knew the importance of getting insurance runs to put Notre Dame away. And Vercelli showed it.
After a three-inning offensive dry spell, the senior started out the inning with a solo home run, his fifth of the season, to extend the lead to 3-0.
“We’ve been struggling in the late innings this year,” Vercelli said. “But the idea on the bench tonight was ‘we’re not going to let this one slip away.'”
As NU headed into the 9th inning with a 3-1 lead, Vercelli kept his word.
With Lashmet on second, the senior smashed his second home run of the night, landing in the Notre Dame bullpen in left field.
“You hit one homerun, and yeah it’s a dream come true,” Vercelli said. “But after you hit two, it’s a fantasy.”
With a commanding 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, NU was determined to leave a winner. After tweaking his elbow last week, sophomore pitcher Cole Livermore closed out the win for his first career save. In a rare relief appearance, he gave up only one hit over two and one-third innings to seal the victory.
“Our bullpen came out and shut the door,” Vercelli said. “And we kept battling and battling, and we refused to have what has happened this year happen again.”
