Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

37° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Baseball: NU back in the swing of things after OSU trip

After Northwestern’s offense was held to just four hits in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to Valparaiso, coach Paul Stevens was not particularly pleased with his team.

He can rest much easier after the Wildcats’ bats came alive this past weekend, erupting for 23 runs on 36 hits in three games against the Buckeyes.

“I wasn’t very pleased…. We addressed that on Wednesday and Thursday before we left (for Ohio State) and tried to make a few subtle adjustments,” Stevens said. “It’s not like it isn’t going to happen again because it is, but the fact of the matter is I was very proud of their approaches for the most part over the weekend. We still have some work to do, but at the end of the day, slowly but surely, you can see a lot of good things going on there.”

NU’s offensive progression began Friday.

Led by three hits from freshman shortstop Kyle Ruchim and two hits from junior left fielder Geoff Rowan, The Cats had nine hits in their series opener in Columbus, Ohio, Both Ruchim and Rowan have struggled to keep their averages above the Mendoza Line at times this season.

“We got stronger and stronger as we went on,” sophomore pitcher and first baseman Jack Havey said. “Definitely it seemed this way over the weekend.”

Yet NU scored just two runs in Friday’s 7-2 loss as a result of their inability to bring runners home. The Cats stranded 10 runners in defeat, yet Stevens said it was more a case of bad luck than bad hitting.On Saturday, NU found a way to plate its base runners, scoring seven runs on just six hits. Stevens said very little changed from Friday to Saturday, even though the statistics suggested growth in offensive efficiency.

“We just didn’t hit as many atom balls at people,” Stevens said after his team carried its offensive onslaught into Sunday’s rubber match. “We hit the ball hard at people. They just didn’t fall. They didn’t find the green. Today, they found the green, and yesterday, they found the green. All we can do is keep swinging and keep putting the ball in play.”

It seemed like every ball touched by an NU bat found open pastures Sunday, as the team compiled a season-high 21 hits. Some of the Cats’ hits even sailed beyond the outfield fence, a pleasant development for a team that entered the day with just five home runs in 23 games going into Sunday’s game.

Junior first baseman Paul Snieder said he didn’t really have an explanation for why NU was suddenly able to tap into its power on Sunday.

“I have no idea honestly,” Snieder said. “Sometimes people hit the ball well, and it goes far. Sometimes it doesn’t. It’s hard to explain that I guess.”

Snieder, the team’s leading power hitter, knocked a deep fly over the right field fence in the top of the sixth to become the first NU player to record more than one home run this season.

While Snieder’s power surprised no one, Havey may have shocked a few people when he knocked a game-tying three-run home run over the left field fence in the top of the ninth. Havey hit just one home run in 76 at-bats last season.

“Hitters were taking advantage of pitchers leaving the ball in the zone on both teams,” Stevens said. “That’s something that good hitters are going to do. When pitchers are making mistakes, they’re going to hit.”

While NU’s recent charge of power was refreshing, the Cats still have a long way to go if they want to match last year’s power numbers. They hit 34 long balls last season. Nearly halfway through the 2011 campaign, NU has hit just six home runs.

The offense faces a formidable challenge, as NU hosts a UW-Milwaukee team that has just given 25 runs in its past eight games. Even more noteworthy, the Panthers’ pitching staff hasn’t given up a home run in its last 69 innings of work.

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Baseball: NU back in the swing of things after OSU trip