Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Valparaiso
Baseball Team Cruises by Crusaders, 16-5
4/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 18, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - Sparked by a seven-run fourth inning and paced by 21 hits, the Northwestern University baseball team exploded Tuesday afternoon and slaughtered Valparaiso, 16-5, at the Crusaders' Emory Bauer Field.
NU (19-17) set season highs with 16 runs and five doubles, and matched it high hit total with 21. The Wildcats also had 21 base hits in the season opener, a 14-13 loss to Northern Iowa in Phoenix on February 17.
Down, 4-3, the Wildcats sent 12 batters to the plate in the top of the fourth, collecting their runs on seven hits, a walk, and one Crusader error. Ken Padgett (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe) was a catalyst, singling twice in the inning.
The teams traded runs over the next inning, before Northwestern relievers Christopher Spiering (Schaumburg, Ill./Conant) and Michael Nall (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) shut Valpo (7-27-1) down over their last four half-innings to make Zach Schara (Madison, Wis./West) a winner for the first time since March 18. Northwestern, meanwhile, tacked on three runs in the seventh and single runs in the eight and ninth to cruise.
Padgett and Andy Adams (Mount Prospect, Ill./Mount Prospect) had three hits to lead the parade Tuesday, while five other players had two hits apiece and a total of 12 Wildcat players got at least one hit.
The Wildcats will host Michigan State this weekend in another Big Ten weekend. The series starts Friday at 3 p.m. at Rocky Miller Park in Evanston.
