Eric Jokisch and the Wildcats are ready to take this weekend “by the throat.”
That’s what Northwestern (21-27, 10-8 Big Ten) will have to do when it travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face Michigan (29-17, 10-8) this weekend. NU and Michigan are tied for first with two other teams-Purdue and Minnesota. In the rest of the standings, two teams are tied for fifth with a 9-9 Big Ten record, while the remaining four teams are tied for seventh with an 8-10 record. This weekend could mean a significant climb up or drop down the list for any of the 10 teams. Jokisch said the Cats understand the situation.
“We’re confident, we’re winning ballgames,” the junior lefty said. “But we know that last place is two games out of first, so we know that every game is extremely important. We’ve just got to keep focusing and keep playing good ball and never take a day off. One day off puts you out of the tournament right now.”
Jokisch hasn’t taken a day off yet-the southpaw has posted a 3.38 ERA through six Big Ten starts. Sophomore Francis Brooke boasts a 4.36 conference ERA. The righty has dominated in his last two outings, allowing a combined one earned run over 16.1 innings.
With two solid starters holding down spots in the rotation-now Jokisch on Friday and Brooke on Saturday-the perpetual question mark lies in the Cats’ Sunday pitching staff. And that blank won’t be filled in until the start of the third game in the series.
“You don’t know until somebody yells, ‘Play ball’ and everything gets started between the white lines,” coach Paul Stevens said. “That’s when we’ll make the decision. We’re not going to worry about Sunday and jeopardize the other days with using or not using any one of these guys.”
That means if Jokisch and Brooke pitch deep into their games Friday and Saturday, Stevens will be able to pitch sophomore righty Michael Jahns and senior lefties David Jensen and Joe Muraski in whatever order or manner the team needs. NU can pitch “by committee,” as Jokisch says.
On the flipside, if Jokisch and Brooke struggle, the Cats may have to exhaust those arms earlier in the weekend, resulting in sophomore utility man Zach Morton taking the Sunday start. Morton typically plays second base for NU; pitching coach Tim Stoddard said it’s hard to start the righty after he has played his defensive role all week.
“The fact is that Zach is our starting second baseman hitting .350, and he’s probably got one of our best arms on the team,” Stoddard said. “So that’s why we’ve kind of tried to use him in relief on Sunday if we can, or whenever we have to, instead of starting him.”
Two non-starting hurlers with relatively cemented roles are junior lefty Matt Gailey and sophomore righty Paul Snieder, who assumes the role of NU’s nearly unstoppable closer. The righty has pitched 33.1 innings late in games, striking out 31 while allowing just seven earned runs.
Gailey functions as a middle reliever who takes the mound when the Cats are in a jam and need to get out of a tight situation. Stevens and Stoddard have been impressed by Gailey’s consistency. The 6-foot, 190-pounder has appeared in 19 games and posted a team-leading 1.23 ERA. Stoddard said Gailey doesn’t take a long time to warm up and has thus been effective both early and late in games.
NU will need strong performances from all its pitchers to stave off Michigan and keep a grasp on the No. 1 slot in the Big Ten. Jokisch is determined to stay on top.
“If we could win the Big Ten, we could kind of shove it in everybody else’s face,” he said. “Everybody else blew us off, and I hate that. That’s ridiculous, because we’re a great ballclub. … I hope we can pull it off.” [email protected]
