Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Minnesota
Baseball Team Sweeps Minnesota, 4-2 and 8-2
4/15/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 15, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern got two outstanding pitching performances Saturday, and the bats warmed up as the Wildcats defeated Minnesota in a pair of games, 4-2 and 8-2.
The wins gave Northwestern its first doubleheader sweep of the 2000 Big Ten season and improved the Wildcats to 18-16 overall (4-7 Big Ten). Minnesota fell to 21-15 (7-4 Big Ten). In addition, the wins ended an eight-game winning streak for Minnesota in this series dating back to 1998.
In Game 1, sophomore Gabe Ribas (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) went the distance and allowed just four hits. Both of Minnesota's runs in that game came via the longball, as Luke Appert and Jason Kennedy touched Ribas for homers. However, Northwestern scored two runs in the third and fourth innings, with what proved to be the deciding runs on a 2-run single by Frank Favia (Barrington, Ill./Barrington).
In Game 2, it was senior Dan Padgett (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe) who was dominant. Staked to a seven-run lead after two innings -- Northwestern batted around in the first inning and sent eight hitters to the plate in the second -- he allowed just five hits, shutting the Gopher bats down until the seventh and final inning when they scored two runs on three consecutive hits.
The Wildcats knocked out 10 hits in Game 2, including two apiece from Pat Thompson (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville), Travis Tharp (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) and Brandon Ackley (Carmel, Ind./Carmel). Thompson and Tharp each knocked in two runs, while Thompson and Jeremy Kurella (Dunedin, Fla./Dunedin) scored two runs apiece.
Northwestern and Minnesota will conclude their four-game set Sunday afternoon, in a game that has been moved due to the potential for showers later. First pitch is now set for 12 noon at Rocky Miller Park.
