As coach Paul Stevens says, “Good pitching will shut down good hitting every time.”
Northwestern learned Stevens’ lesson the hard way in its opening weekend losses at the Bojangles Baseball Classic. The Wildcats benefitted from being on the other side of the scenario this weekend at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge.
After getting outscored 58-9 in their first four games of the season, the Cats topped a pair of Big East foes by a combined score of 13-10.
As a result, anyone who saw NU after its three-game performance this weekend saw a team filled with confidence, exhibiting renewed excitement for a season that looked grim just a week earlier.
“We definitely walked through the airport differently (Sunday) trying to represent Northwestern,” junior infielder Chris Lashmet said. “This weekend we were a lot more confident, a lot more lively. We improved in every aspect of the game and we were excited to play.”
Lashmet helped the Cats (2-5) to an impressive performance in St. Petersburg, Fla., as the team took all but one game in its weekend tournament. The showing dramatically swung the team’s mood.
“I just want to talk about their character,” Stevens said. “These guys made adjustments and forgot about the previous weekend. They were in three tight ballgames, and I take my hat off to them.”
The theme of the weekend was close contests decided in the final frames, and the first game set the tone. NU edged Connecticut 6-5 Friday in extra innings, as sophomore Zach Morton singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th. Morton finished with two hits, a sacrifice squeeze and two RBIs.
“Zach Morton played the best game I’ve ever seen him play,” Lashmet said. “When everyone’s contributing, everyone’s hitting, it’s a lot more fun and we’re a much better team.”
Eight players collected at least one hit against UConn, while four had multiple base knocks. The Cats took advantage of five Huskies’ errors, and senior starter Joe Muraski pitched 6.1 solid innings to keep the game close. Sophomore Michael Jahns pitched a scoreless 10th frame to notch the win.
It’s hard to imagine NU playing much better than it did in its second game, a 7-5 win over Rutgers. The Cats collected 16 hits, including three each from freshman centerfielder Arby Fields and sophomore leftfielder Quentin Williams, who also contributed two RBIs apiece.
“We had an attitude like, ‘Let’s swing it like we mean it,'” Lashmet said.
And they did. The Cats mashed four home runs, a power surge that provided a cushion for starter Francis Brooke. The sophomore pitched eight quality innings and allowed four runs, but due to Cats’ defensive gaffes, only one was earned. Brooke said the team’s early run support afforded him the comfort and confidence to pitch aggressively to the Scarlet Knights and then trust his defense.
“I got ahead in the count and let the defense make plays,” he said. “On offense, our timely hitting was huge. They would get a run, and then we’d come right back the next inning and get it back. That’s really important to staying in games.”
Sunday’s finale against Seton Hall marked the third day in a row the Cats played the early game. The team’s fatigue resulted in three costly errors leading to three unearned runs and a lethargic offense that was shut out 3-0.
“It was a bad day for us,” Brooke said. “We just got worn down after three early games in a row. We couldn’t keep the intensity and focus we had in the first two games.”
Lack of timely hitting doomed the Cats’ offense-NU was unable to get runners in from second base in multiple innings and couldn’t capitalize after bringing the tying run to the plate in the ninth. Stevens said getting production with runners in scoring position is vital to a team’s success, but also credited the Pirates’ sterling pitching.
The lackluster offensive output spoiled a sparkling performance from Morton, who started and threw six innings, allowing only two unearned runs with three strikeouts and no walks. Stevens was pleased with the Cats’ sound pitching throughout the weekend.
“Muraski did a wonderful job keeping us in the Connecticut game,” Stevens said. “Obviously Brooke and Morton were terrific. But I really can’t tell you a pitcher I wasn’t proud of. Everybody who walked to the hill for us was outstanding. Overall, this was definitely a stride forward from where we were the week before.”[email protected]
