Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Baseball Team Rallies to Beat UW-Milwaukee, 12-7
4/11/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 11, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - Junior shortstop Jeremy Kurella (Dunedin, Fla./Dunedin) capped off a six-run eighth inning with a grand slam home run Tuesday afternoon, giving Northwestern its first win of the year at home, 12-7, over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The win improved the Wildcats to 16-14, while UW-Milwaukee fell to 13-13.
Kurella's blast, which cleared the fence at the 400-foot mark in center field, put the exclamation point on an inning that saw the Wildcats salvage victory from the jaws of defeat.
After scoring six runs in the first two innings of the game, and watching sophomore Ryan Bos (Barrington, Ill./Lake Zurich) cruise for several innings, the Wildcats suddenly found themselves behind when reliever Jacob Briskman (Riverwoods, Ill./Deerfield) allowed three UW-Milwaukee runs to score in the top of the seventh.
Northwestern went down quietly in the bottom half of the seventh, but went to work quickly in the eighth. Bob Dainton (Mokena, Ill./Lockport) led off with a double, and then Joe Hietpas (Appleton, Wis./North) got on with a perfectly-placed bunt toward first base. Pat Thompson (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) tied the game with a double down the left-field line, and then Wesley Robinson (Bradenton, Fla./St. Stephen's) hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Hietpas and give the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish.
After a groundout, UWM brought in J.J. Kotarak to end the rally. Instead, he walked Kris Musselman (Indian Springs, Ohio/Fairfield) and hit pinch hitter Frank Favia (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) with a pitch, setting the stage for Kurella's slam.
Briskman was credited with the win. Bos, who was making his first collegiate start, allowed three runs on two home runs in the first two innings but settled down to allow just one hit over the next four innings. Michael Nall (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) came on in the ninth and recorded two strikeouts.
Offensively, Kurella went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base, while Dainton and Brandon Ackley (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) had two hits apiece.
Northwestern is back in action tomorrow, hosting Wisconsin-Parkside beginning at 3 p.m. on Rocky Miller Park.
