Coach Paul Stevens has said time and again that he recruited sophomore Paul Snieder to hit in clutch situations and to close ballgames.
Tuesday against Valparaiso at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Ind., “Sniedley” showed Stevens he recruited the dual threat for all the right reasons.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder went 3-for-5 in the contest, which Northwestern won, 10-8. But Snieder’s team-leading four RBIs didn’t come from his two doubles. With the Wildcats down 7-6, Snieder blasted a home run to left field with the sacks packed. The hit was Snieder’s third long ball in the last two games; it put NU (19-25) ahead of Valparaiso (18-25) by three.
“(Snieder’s home run) was a very, very good piece of hitting, not anything like what he did all weekend at Illinois, where he was driving the ball into the right-center gap,” Stevens said. “He definitely stayed inside of this one and hit it the other way and did a great job of just taking advantage of what the pitcher had given him.”
Two innings later, after sophomore right-hander Michael Jahns allowed the Crusaders to bring the score within two, Snieder took the mound hoping to preserve the Cats’ lead. The Big Ten’s saves leader swiftly fanned the first two batters he faced and made it out of the inning without allowing a run. In the top of the ninth, Snieder induced a line out sandwiched between two strikeouts to end the game. The save marked Snieder’s 10th on the season. Sophomore right fielder Chris Kontos said he and the rest of the team have confidence in Snieder on the mound and at the plate.
“He’s our three-hitter,” Kontos said. “He’s a guy that’s going to get big hits in the lineup. And he’s been basically untouchable this year on the mound. He throws strikes, and he’s located his fastball and his slider. He’s been getting guys off balance and doing a really good job at it.”
Kontos and sophomore left fielder Geoff Rowan were NU’s other two players to bring runners home. Rowan went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Kontos went 3-for-4 with one.
Kontos was a homer away from hitting for the cycle; the 6-foot-3, 195-pounder tripled in the second inning, doubled in the fourth and singled in the sixth. The Lincolnwood, Ill., native said the idea of hammering a homer to top off his group of hits crossed his mind, maybe causing him to try harder than usual to make solid contact in his seventh-inning at-bat. Still, with six extra-base hits in Tuesday’s game, Kontos said the Cats continue to make strides away from stringing together singles to squeeze out wins.
“In the past … we would hit a lot of singles, and then we wouldn’t be able to get those runs in,” Kontos said. “We would strand a lot of runners. The extra-base hits really helped (in this game)-we put 10 runs on the scoreboard.”
The Cats come home to face the University of Chicago today at 3 p.m. at Rocky Miller Park.
Snieder said he’s looking forward to the contest because it will give the team more “in-game practice.” Kontos agreed, saying games between conference series help the players keep their timing.
Stevens said he is glad to face Chicago (16-15) in Evanston because the Cats have had only seven home games thus far. The skipper said he also likes midweek contests because they allow players to see more live pitching.
“The reason guys are getting better is that they’re getting opportunities to perform and grow,” Stevens said. “We just need to keep playing and keep getting guys on the mound and in the batter’s box and out on the field to make sure that we stay sharp.”[email protected]
