As Michael Jahns prepared for an interview following Tuesday’s win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee, coach Paul Stevens came over and told his senior hurler that he loved him. Jahns told his coach the feelings were mutual.
The senior was particularly grateful after his coach left him in for 4 1/3 innings. Jahns rewarded his coach’s faith, extricating Northwestern (11-22, 3-9 Big Ten) from a bases-loaded situation in the seventh inning with a strikeout. Then, after surrendering two runs in the eighth inning, he kept the game tied with another crucial strikeout. NU will need a similar performance against Michigan this weekend.
“It just shows that he trusts me on the mound, that I’ll get the job done,” Jahns said. “The first batter of the inning got on I don’t know how many times, and he left me in the whole time, and that just says a lot.
He staged his biggest tightrope walk in the top of the 10th, however, when he managed to work his way out of a bases-loaded, no-outs situation with a strikeout and a 5-2-3 double play.
“I just believe in Michael’s ability to get it done, and right now he’s as consistent as anybody we have going to the hill,” Stevens said. “There’s nobody that has a more devastating pitch than that breaking ball of Michael’s, and when he can master that with his fastball and then throw that breaking ball, there’s going to be people that are going to pop it up or beat it into the ground, and thank goodness they beat it in the ground.”
Afterwards, an exhilarated Jahns thanked his catcher for the fine play.
“I was very happy in the dugout,” Jahns said with a laugh. “I greeted (senior catcher) Geoff (Rowan) and I gave him a good pat on the, uh, back.”
While Jahns may have been the most intriguing story from Tuesday’s game, sophomore hurler Nick Friar was probably the best pitcher on the mound for NU.
After tossing 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief against St. Xavier on April 10, Friar kept up the good work against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, surrendering just two hits, two walks and an earned run in five innings of work. Like Jahns, Friar made use of a big 12-6 curveball, but he did well to keep it low, frequently forcing Rowan to get down on his knees and block balls in the dirt.
“That’s why he got the opportunity today, because of what he showed the last time he was out there,” Stevens said. “I’m really proud of Nick. I’m really, really excited because he has come a long way and he has put in the time to get it done.”
For a NU pitching staff that has prospered of late, Michigan (16-22, 3-6) will present a unique challenge. The Wolverines enter this weekend with the worst batting average in the Big Ten but make up for that with a combination of speed and power.
Michigan is second in the conference with 59 stolen bases and 76 stolen base attempts. The Wolverines have also hit 20 home runs this season, exactly twice the Cats’ total. Much like any great power hitter though, Michigan also strikes out quite a bit, leading the Big Ten with 294 strikeouts.
For the Wolverines and Cats alike, this weekend’s three-game series is critical, as they both seek to climb out of the conference cellar. Despite their success on Tuesday, the Cats are still looking to put an end to a six-game losing streak in Big Ten play. Five of their nine losses in conference play have come by two runs or fewer.
