A great role model and a great player. That’s how freshman Hamilton Wise describes teammate Jake Goebbert.
For 30 games, Wise and the rest of the first-year Wildcats got to learn alongside Goebbert.
Two weeks ago, during the Minnesota series, a struggling Northwestern team lost its lethal offensive presence in the middle of its lineup. Goebbert suffered an injury that has sidelined him indefinitely.
“We all know we have to step up offensively to fill Jake’s shoes,” senior Tony Vercelli said. “But I think it’s made us realize that, as a team, in order for us to win games, we all have to do our job. We can’t just rely on Jake in those big innings, we all have got to contribute to every game.”
In Goebbert’s absence, Vercelli and the Cats have done just that. In Wednesday’s 13-3 victory over Illinois State and last Wednesday’s 5-1 victory over Notre Dame, Vercelli had two home runs in each contest. The squad has fed off of Vercelli’s offensive success, picking up four wins in its last five games.
Wise said he hopes the team’s momentum will carry into this weekend’s series against the Buckeyes.
“We know that if we keep playing well, we can beat some really good teams like Ohio State,” Wise said. “We can win some of those games and flip those standings around a little, we can hopefully make a good run and make it to the Big Ten Tournament.”
But it won’t be an easy task. The Buckeyes are first in the Big Ten, boasting a 9-3 conference record and 29-9 overall record. They lead the Big Ten in batting average (.330), runs scored (316) and homeruns (43). Ohio State has also scored 128 more runs than NU this season.
While Vercelli is aware of the difference between the two teams, he said he sees no reason for NU to panic.
“Ohio State is number one in the Big Ten, and we’re last,” Vercelli said. ” So I guess the pressure’s on them.”
Even without Goebbert on Wednesday, the team still managed to score 13 runs. To add on to Vercelli’s two home runs and five RBIs, sophomore third baseman Chris Lashmet went 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Three of the other four runs came from pinch hits by freshmen Wise and catcher Geoff Rowan and by sparingly used sophomore outfielder Brant Cavagnaro.
“I think those are the type of things that I’m most pleased with as far as guys picking each other up,” coach Paul Stevens said.
NU has had to replace Goebbert, who was a top-10 player in conference slugging percentage, on-base percentage, doubles and home runs last season. But Vercelli considers his absence both a challenge and an opportunity.
“We’ve been playing well lately, and we’re taking this adversity as a challenge,” Vercelli said. “This is an opportunity for a lot of younger guys to step up and play. We’re rotating a lot and getting a lot of younger guys in, and it’s paid off. We’re clicking pretty good right now.”
