For sophomore Eric Jokisch, one season has made a world of difference. At least in his first six conference outings.
A year after boasting a 5-1 record to kick off the Big Ten season, Jokisch has only picked up one Big Ten win so far.
Last year, he went 8-2 with a team-leading 4.17 ERA en route to earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. It looked like Jokisch was on track to continue his success in 2009, but since a start in mid-April against Notre Dame, Jokisch hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning.
To that point, Jokisch was Northwestern’s Friday starter. But after pitching five shutout innings against the Fighting Irish, Jokisch’s start against Iowa was cancelled. Then, he pitched on Saturday against Ohio State and Illinois, both losses, in which he surrendered a combined 19 runs in seven innings.
“I was happy to pitch (the Notre Dame) game, but then I didn’t get to pitch at Iowa because it got rained out,” Jokisch said. “And that did throw off my rhythm a bit, just mixing things up. … I’ve noticed a few mechanical things that have gotten worse, and so I think it was a lot of mental stuff involved too.”
But Jokisch’s struggles aren’t isolated. Coach Paul Stevens has struggled all year to put together the pieces of his pitching staff. The Cats lost two cogs in their bullpen, sophomore Cole Livermore and senior Matt Havey, due to injury, and have struggled with late-inning losses and relief pitching throughout this season.
“We lost Livermore early, and Havey who was one of the top closers in the country,” Stevens said. “Those were two very big arms we lost right before the season started. … I think finding a closer has involved a lot of trials and tribulations.”
In the search to fill his pitching staff, Stevens has relied on young arms.Freshmen Michael Jahns, Francis Brooke and Zach Morton have all contributed this season. Morton has pitched 50 innings this season, third most on the team behind Jokisch and Joe Muraski.
“I think those guys have made some progress,” Stevens said. “They’re still freshmen. They’re going to make freshmen mistakes. … I think with this freshman group of kids, we have some potential.”With one exception, Stevens has had to rely on young staff throughout the season. That exception is Muraski.
The junior has become a consistent starter for the Cats, improving his ERA from 7.71 last season to 5.40 this year. The reversal has started with balls and strikes. Last year, Muraski walked 27 batters and struck out 32. This year, he’s given out 24 free passes and fanned 50.
“During the off season, I just wanted to not have a repeat of last year,” Muraski said. “I worked as hard as I could to get my arm ready and in shape for this year. I just want to go out and give my team a chance to win every time I throw.”
Muraski has done just that, going into the sixth inning in each of his last three starts.
“Make no mistake, Joe Muraski has come a long way from last year,” Stevens said. “I’m excited for what he’s going to bring to the table for us in the future. I think he’s got some good starts ahead of him in the next couple of weekends, and I’m looking forward to watch him perform.”
Still, with two Big Ten series remaining, NU will need its starters to go deep into games to win games.
And Jokisch will get a chance to do just that, when NU faces Indiana this weekend.
“I just have to go out there and make sure I throw the best of my ability every time I get the chance,” Jokisch said. “I haven’t done that the last two starts, but I hope to turn it around.”
