It only took two days for Trevor Stevens to look comfortable in the infield again.
Stevens played most of 2010 at shortstop and played the first 25 games this year in center field, before returning to his previous position for the second weekend of Big Ten play. Stevens committed one error in each game of Northwestern’s doubleheader with the Nittany Lions on Saturday, but he settled in by Sunday, and the junior contributed to 15 outs over the series.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning of Sunday’s series finale with Penn State, Stevens flashed the leather, making a SportsCenter Top 10-worthy diving stop. Stevens dove to his right, snared the line drive and fired across the diamond for the second out of the inning.
Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Stevens made the game’s final play, charging on a weakly hit ground ball and throwing across his body to get the bang-bang out and seal the Wildcats’ only weekend win.
A sizable question mark had hovered over second base early this year, as coach Paul Stevens tag-teamed freshmen Patrick Miller and Cody Stevens at the keystone sack. Last weekend, former shortstop Kyle Ruchim, also a freshman, moved to second base, making room for Trevor Stevens to move back to his 2010 position and sending freshman Nick Linne to the outfield.
“It’s about energy,” Stevens said. “It’s about someone in the middle of the diamond being able to lead. We’ve seen some things in the infield that I’m really pleased with, but we’ve got some other issues that we’ve got to (deal with). But it’s all about leadership and energy in the middle of the diamond, and that’s why (Trevor) was put back in there.”
BIG LEAGUERS FOR A WEEKEND
Rocky Miller Park, beloved 68-year-old home to NU baseball, features a seating capacity of a modest 600. This weekend, the Cats will play in a 39,504-seat stadium when they travel to Minneapolis to face the reigning Big Ten champion Golden Gophers.
Minnesota made the move to Target Field, which is in its second year as the Minnesota Twins’ home field, after the Golden Gophers’ previous borrowed facility, the Metrodome, experienced a massive roof collapse last December.
NU’s juniors and seniors have played in three major league parks in their college careers.
“I loved playing at the Metrodome (in 2009 and 2010), I loved playing at U.S. Cellular (in 2009), and I loved Miller Park (in 2010),” senior Chris Lashmet said. “I’d probably say the U.S. Cellular game was the best, just because it was night and it was a big game against Notre Dame and we won. That was pretty awesome.”
The Cats (9-20, 2-4 Big Ten) have gone 3-6 in major league parks over the last two seasons. While that record isn’t perfect, the team has put up some of its top performances in those venues, including a six-inning perfect relief stint last year for then-freshman Jack Havey in a 4-1 NU victory over Milwaukee at Miller Park, in addition to the 5-1 Notre Dame win in ’09.
Lashmet noted that perhaps teams like Minnesota (10-13, 2-4), who play all their conference home games in fancy digs, don’t experience the same thrill visiting teams feel.
“As an opposing team, when you go and play in a really nice stadium, you get energized by it and you usually elevate your play,” Lashmet said. “Maybe they’ve played there enough so the adrenaline rush isn’t as much.”
Lashmet said he’s excited to have the chance to play at Target Field, though he has his eye on the forecast in hopes for nicer conditions than expected.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” the senior said. “Hopefully the weather gets a little nicer than it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to be like 40 (degrees) on Saturday with snow. But it won’t feel as cold playing in such a nice field.”
When the Cats head to Minneapolis to take on the Gophers, they’ll face a team that’s on a four-game losing streak and has a Big Ten record identical to their own. With a series win, NU could break away from its current four-way tie for seventh place in the conference.
