After nine innings and 28 runs couldn’t settle the rubber match between Northwestern and Michigan on Sunday, the game went to extras. With the bases bereft of Wolverines, the first Michigan hitter to come to the plate in the bottom of the 10th became the last.
First baseman Mike Dufek led off the inning with a moon shot to straightaway center that landed a punch to the gut of NU. The walk-off blast brought a wild contest to an abrupt end, giving Michigan the series and leaving the Wildcats with their jaws in the dirt, having watched an early 14-run lead disintegrate.
The Cats (22-29, 11-10 Big Ten) went up 14-0 after the third inning. They were leading 14-12 and were one strike away from victory in the ninth when sophomore Zach Morton, in his fourth inning of relief, served up a game-tying, two-run homer to slugger Chris Berset.
“We were in disbelief,” junior Chris Lashmet said. “It was a terrible feeling to see him hit it out.”
The late collapse served as the weekend’s theme, as the Cats lost leads in the sixth inning or later in all three games. On Friday, they were up 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth before Michigan (31-19, 12-9) tied it and later took the lead in the seventh to win 4-3. Junior Eric Jokisch threw seven solid innings in that contest, giving up four and striking out five. In the second matchup, NU was up 7-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth before giving up a half dozen runs. The Cats answered back in the eighth, though, scoring three two-out runs to win 10-8 and even the series. On Sunday the Wolverines scored their last five runs after the sixth inning.
Lashmet said the relievers were not to blame for the loss, though, and by this point of the season everyone on the team is tired.
“The bullpen has been worked a lot, but I wouldn’t say they’re overworked,” he said.
Sunday’s swoon hurt the most, as the Cats’ bats turned to twigs and the pitching bowed to the Wolverines. Jokisch thought NU may have been victimized by a feeling of invincibility after their huge early lead, but he said Michigan deserved to win.
“We had a 14-run lead after three innings, so it’s hard not to think ‘this ballgame is over,'” he said. “Guys never stopped trying, but you have to give (Michigan) credit for staying in it and battling back.”
Coach Paul Stevens said he put the loss entirely on himself for failing to make adjustments at the right times.
“I didn’t put people in positions to be successful,” Stevens said. “(Sunday’s) game falls squarely on my shoulders.”
The Cats’ offense continued its tear over the weekend, putting up 27 runs in the three games. Lashmet was especially potent, going 7-for-14 with eight runs scored and six RBIs in the series. The third baseman hit three home runs, including a grand slam. Morton went 8-for-14, raising his batting average to .374.
NU now has to prepare for their last series of the season, at home against Michigan State. In a jumbled Big Ten where the first and last place teams are separated by only four games, the final series will be critical.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Stevens said. “There is a tremendous amount of intensity in this conference right now. The competition is so intense and so fierce, nobody has an opportunity to sit back and take a breath.”
Jokisch, who will start one of the first two games this weekend, knows the stakes.
“It’s the end of the season, everyone needs to bear down,” he said. “We might be tired, but we’re going to give it everything we’ve got and we need to win three games.”[email protected]
