Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Michigan St
Baseball Team Sweeps Michigan State, 7-2 and 5-4
4/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 23, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern University baseball team capped off its best Big Ten weekend to date in thrilling fashion Sunday afternoon, scoring in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Michigan State, 5-4. That win, coupled with a 7-2 decision in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, gave the Wildcats three wins over the Spartans for the weekend.
The wins also allowed NU to move up to sixth place in the Big Ten standings, which for the first time will have six teams compete in its postseason tournament. At 7-9, the Wildcats are a game up on Michigan with 12 to play in the regular season. Overall, Northwestern is now 22-18, while Michigan State fell to 14-26 (4-11)
Jeremy Kurella (Dunedin, Fla.) ignited the seventh-inning rally, singling with one out. He then advanced to second on a passed ball, then scored when J.P. Williamson (Oak Park, Ill.) singled up the middle.
That got Michael Nall (Schaumburg, Ill.) off the hook. Nall, who had been brought in for Ben Dodd (Belleville, Ill.) in the sixth, got the win after Northwestern allowed Michigan State to tie the game in the top of the seventh with a pair of one-out errors. That put runners at the corners, and a groundout to third by Bob Malek brought home Ted Demetral with the tying run. Nall added to the drama, allowing MSU's Mike Pisani to get to third on a wild pitch before striking out Rick Court to escape the jam.
J.J. Standring (Chicago, Ill.) started Game 2 and immediately found trouble, allowing a two-run homer to the second batter he faced. He settled down nicely after that, though, and allowed just one more run as he went into the fifth. Northwestern, meanwhile, manufactured single runs in the first and third innings, and took the lead in the fourth. With runners on second and third and one out, Brandon Ackley (Carmel, Ind.) lifted a fly ball to right field that was dropped, allowing Wesley Robinson (Bradenton, Fla.) to score. One batter later, Kurella hit a sacrifice fly that scored Ken Padgett (Littleton, Colo.).
In Game 1, Zach Schara (Madison, Wis.) went the distance to gain his first Big Ten win of the season. The sophomore, who had hard-luck losses in the first three conference weekends, allowed just five hits and two third-inning runs to improve to 5-4 overall.
After scoring once in the first, meanwhile, the Wildcats took the lead for good in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Bob Dainton (Mokena, Ill.) and an RBI single by Joe Hietpas (Appleton, Wis.). Northwestern tacked up two more runs in the fourth and sixth innings to cruise to the win.
Dainton was the offensive leader in Game 1, going 4-for-4 with 4 RBI, while Williamson was 3-for-3 and scored three runs. Ackley, meanwhile, went 2-for-2 and scored twice. In Game 2, Kurella had two hits and two runs, while Williamson knocked in two runs.
Northwestern is back in action Tuesday, hosting Northern Illinois in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. at Rocky Miller Park.
