Northwestern University Athletics
The 2001 Baseball Outlook
2/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 6, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - The 2001 Northwestern baseball team enters the season with high hopes and postseason expectations. After coming off its first appearance at the Big Ten Tournament since 1995, NU is geared to make a run at a conference title.
"The beauty of the Big Ten is there is an enormous amount of parity," said head coach Paul Stevens. "Anybody can come from anywhere and make a run at a title. We just need to come out fighting and play baseball the way we know how."
First-team All-Big Ten selection, Zach Schara and second-team All-Big Ten pick Gabe Ribas head up a pitching staff that Stevens says is one of NU's strongest assets.
"Pitching will be one of our strengths this year," said Stevens. "We're dealing with more experienced players on the mound than we've had in years past."
Schara finished the season atop the Big Ten as the league leader in ERA, (3.06) and strikeouts with 95. He started 15 games throwing 106.0 innings and the opponents batting average was a meager .231.
Ribas pitched in 14 games and finished fifth in conference ERA at 3.40. He threw 90.0 innings, struck out 69 and walked just 20.
The two of them combined for a 15-9 overall record and 6-5 mark in the Big Ten. They struck out 164, and walked just 60.
"Schara and Ribas had very productive seasons last year and we fully expect them to duplicate their success in 2001," said Stevens.
In addition to Schara and Ribas, junior Ryan Bos and seniors Michael Nall and J.J. Standring look to be major contributors on the Wildcat pitching staff.
Bos enters his junior year looking to regain the form that earned him freshman All-America honors in 1999.
"Ryan's got a new attitude for the game after acquiring some confidence pitching in the Jayhawk league this summer," said Stevens. "We look for him to be major part of our pitching staff."
Nall led the team in appearances (21) last year and finished with a 2-3 record.
"Nall has experience throwing in this conference," said Stevens. "He knows what he has to do to be successful. We expect him to throw a lot of innings for us."
Standring has logged 115.2 innings over the last two years, including 31.0 last year.
"J.J. is a strong pitcher who needs to regain the form he had his sophomore season," said Stevens.
Others looking to throw some innings this spring are Andy Adams, Christopher Spiering and Dan Konecny.
Konecny comes to NU from Ripon high school in Wisconsin where he earned first-team All-East Central Conference his junior and senior seasons. As a senior, he went 11-0 on the mound with a 0.57 ERA. He struck out 108 and walked just 28 in 69 innings of work. Konecny was a first-team all-state player and named Conference and Area Player of the Year. He also received All-USA Today Honorable Mention honors.
Freshmen Jason Krynski and Cody Conway round out a pitching staff which throws to arguably one of the best catchers in the Big Ten.
Senior Joe Hietpas enters his last season after a stellar junior year in which he led the team in hitting with a .381 average, stroking 19 doubles, two triples and five home runs. He also led the team in slugging percentage at .574. He ended the season with 50 RBI and was second in total hits, 77, and at bats, 205. He started 56 games and had a .984 fielding percentage.
"Joe's ability to handle pitchers and throw out baserunners is a tremendous asset to our pitching staff," said Stevens. "He hit very well for average last year, but we hope Joe can hit with a little more power this year."
Backing up Hietpas behind the dish is sophomore Ken Padgett who will also see some time in the infield as a utility player.
"There will be a lot of new faces in the infield this year," said Stevens.
Starting at the hot corner, senior Wesley Robinson and Padget will be the top candidates vying for playing time.
"I think were going to be pretty solid at third base along with having some flexibility with Frank Favia being able to play a few different positions, including third," said Stevens.
Robinson saw action in 41 games, hitting .253 while Padgett played in 20 games hitting .279.
Favia and newcomer Josh Lieberman will contend for playing time for the shortstop position.
"Both Favia and Lieberman will get their opportunities to show us what they can do," said Stevens.
In 2000, Favia saw action all over the infield playing in 44 games, starting 25. He hit .267 scoring 15 runs.
Lieberman comes from Mundelein High School where he was named a 2000 all-state shortstop by (Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association) and received all-state special mention by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. He was named a two-time Daily Herald Lake County All-Area player and Pioneer Press All-Area in 2000.
The other half of the middle infield will be filled by either junior Todd Morgan or sophomore Eric Roeder.
Morgan saw limited action in 22 games hitting .185 while Roeder played in 39 games hitting .293.
"Roeder is a guy who we think is on the verge of having a big year, both offensively and defensively," said Stevens.
The first base duties fall on Colorado native Travis Tharp.
"Travis is our best defensive first baseman, but there will be a variety of players who will get a chance at first base," said Stevens. "But, Tharp has the most experience, and if he can produce offensively, he has the inside track."
The variety includes Matt Thompson who finished 2000 with a .360 average in limited action. Others looking to get their shot is freshman Chuck Sanna who can hit with legitimate power.
Another Wildcat with some pop in his bat is sophomore outfielder Brandon Ackley.
"Even though Ackley is the only returning starter from a year ago we're probably stronger than we've ever been in the outfield," said Stevens.
Ackley is coming off a stellar freshman campaign in which he started 53 games and hit .309. He finished sixth on the team in total hits (55) including 14 doubles, one home run and 19 RBI.
The 2001 Wildcat outfield will be a rotation of Ackley, Steve Haake, Dan Pohlman and David Gresky.
"With the talent we have in the outfield, what will probably happen is there will be a rotation of these four with the other filling the designated hitter role," said Stevens.
Haake comes to Northwestern after spending the last two years at Southwestern Illinois College where he earned all-conference honors. Haake hit .385 with six home runs and 48 RBI. He also stole 57 bases in two years.
Pohlman hit .404 as a sophomore, .434 as a junior and .510 as a senior. He produced 35 career home runs and 145 RBI at Barrington High School (Ill.). He was a three-time all-conference (Mid-Suburban West) and all-area selection and a two-time Chicago Sun-Times first-team all-state. He also was named Daily Herald Player of the Year along with being named Chicago Tribune and Daily Herald Chicago Athlete of the Year.
Gresky was chosen in the 22nd-round by the Florida Marlins in the 2000 MLB draft. Gresky was also named preseason Freshman of the Year in the Big Ten by Baseball America and rated 44th in the country in Baseball America's freshmen "Fab 50". He earned USA Today Ohio State Player of the Year as a senior. He set school single-season records for hits (50), home runs (10) and RBI (51).
With an outfield stacked with talent and a pitching staff geared to make a postseason run, Northwestern baseball looks to improve its sixth-place Big Ten finish from a year ago.
"I'm excited about what I saw this fall," said Stevens. "If we can get it going early we hope to carry that success into conference play."
