Northwestern University Athletics
2002 Baseball Outlook
2/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 5, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Two years in a row the Northwestern baseball team found itself knocking on the door to postseason play. Unfortunately for the 2001 Wildcats, destiny didn't show them the way to Columbus (Ohio), site of the Big Ten Tournament.
"The 2000 and 2001 teams were very similar," says head coach Paul Stevens.
The similarities begin at the front end of the Big Ten seasons. For two years running, NU got off to a slow start.
"Those two teams showed tremendous resiliency," says Stevens. "The way they battled back and found ways to win was remarkable."
In 2000, NU needed to win five of its final eight games to advance to the postseason. They succeeded, winning 3-of-4 from Purdue and splitting with Penn State.
In 2001, the 'Cats put themselves in position for postseason play despite a tough nonconference schedule and a disastrous first eight games of league play. Just 1-7 after two weekends in the Big Ten, the 'Cats rattled off 10 wins during the next four series, taking 3-of-4 from Penn State and Indiana, to set up the Minnesota series. NU also split against Michigan State and Iowa.
"We started out slow (in conference play), but our kids responded, battled back and came together as a team," says Stevens.
One of the major keys to getting NU back to the conference tournament-which is hosted by the regular season champion-will be the consistency of its three senior starting pitchers and the maturity of some underclassmen. Seniors Ryan Bos, Zach Schara and Gabe Ribas combined to throw 248 innings a year ago (54 percent of the total number of innings) and will be the work horses this year as the coaches expect them to throw a lot of innings.
"There is no question we'll rely on these guys to go deep into games," says Stevens. "They've logged a lot of innings in their careers. We expect our seniors to be a big part of our success this season."
As a three year starter, Schara has accumulated 38 starts and is already second on NU's career strikeout list with 230. He needs 43 more to become NU's strikeout king. He also finished sixth on the single season innings pitched list, hauling in 96.0 innings.
"Zach is one of the fiercest competitors on our team," said Stevens. "I'll give him the ball any day of the week."
One of the most impressive stats of 2001 was Ribas' strikeout to walk ratio. He struck out 72 hitters and walked just 22-a 3.3-to-1 ratio-in 78.1 innings.
"Gabe has exceptional control," says Stevens.
The pitching staff as a whole finished sixth in the Big Ten with a 5.40 ERA.
Not to be outdone is the Wildcat bullpen. Sophomore Dan Konecny made 18 appearances a year ago, including three starts. The 6-foot-5 right-hander from Wisconsin finished tied for sixth in the Big Ten with three saves.
"Dan has the chance to be our fourth starter," says Stevens. "He has the ability, its a matter of whether or not he competes for us."
In all, NU had eight pitchers with 10 or more appearances and six of them stepped on the rubber 15 or more times.
Pitching isn't the only key to postseason appearances.
A productive offense is also one of the keys to winning at the collegiate level. Last year, NU finished ninth in the Big Ten team batting statistics, hitting a dismal .272. Only Iowa finished behind the 'Cats with a .266 average.
"We have to do a better job offensively," says Stevens. "If our season is anything like I've seen in this preseason, we'll be a force to reckon with."
Two major catalysts for the offense, Eric Roeder and Steve Haake will continue to bat first and second in the lineup.
Individually, the senior Haake finished ninth on NU's single-season doubles list with 15 a year ago and helped the team hit 21 triples with four of his own. The 21 triples tied for fourth on NU's single season list and was second to Ohio State's 23 in the Big Ten. Roeder meanwhile, led the team in just about every major category, including RBI (38) and played very consistent defense.
"These two (Haake and Roeder) are a great one-two punch at the top of the lineup," says Stevens. " Both are fast and make things happen."
Sophomore David Gresky went through his entire first year of collegiate baseball hitting above .300 before falling in the last game of the season to .299. Gresky did finish second on the team with 14 doubles and ended the year with 19 RBI. Classmate Jason Krynski, who was hampered by a hamstring strain the second half of the season, tied for the team lead with four home runs. He shared the title with Hietpas and Haake.
"They had a terrific season," says Stevens about last year's freshmen class. "I'm more excited about the offseason improvements they've made."
Included in that class is two-sport athlete Dan Pohlman. He did not play the first half of the 2001 season because of football obligations.
"Pohlman got a late start," says Stevens. "He was behind the eight ball most of the season."
This year, however, Pohlman joined the team from Day 1.
Graduation took its toll in the catching department with the loss of Hietpas. Junior Ken Padgett will take over the catching duties. Padgett hit .277 a year ago and saw limited action behind the plate. He did throw out 2-of-4 base stealers. Padgett started 39 games, mostly as an infielder at either third base or shortstop.
Individually, four Wildcat players were bestowed with some postseason accolades because of their on-field prowess. Graduated seniors Michael Nall and Joe Hietpas, 2002 seniors Schara and designated hitter Todd Morgan earned All-Big Ten honors from the league's coaches. Hietpas was named to the second team while Nall, Schara and Morgan received third-team selections.
Hietpas' spot will be the hardest to fill as the catcher ended his Wildcat career on nine different career record lists, including the all-time doubles record with 56. He finished second in RBI (158), second in total bases (374), third in home runs (27), tied for third in at-bats (700), fifth in hits (229), fifth in hit-by-pitches (23), sixth in games played (206) and tied for sixth in sacrifice flies (10).
"Joe was an exceptional player and person," says Stevens. "He was one of the best players I've ever coached."
Morgan led the team in hitting with a .336 average and tied for fourth in RBI with 20. Schara and Nall finished second and third in the Big Ten strikeout race and both finished on NU's top-10 single season list. Schara placed sixth with 81 strikeouts, and Nall finished in a tie for seventh with 80.
With a bevy of talent returning, NU welcomes one of its finest recruiting classes in recent years. In all, 10 new faces will don the Wildcat uniform for the first time. The group includes six pitchers-three of whom play other positions-five infielders and one outfielder.
The coaching staff did not travel far to find six of these guys as Evan Blesoff (Oak Park), James Happ (Peru), Chris Hayes (Lake Forest), Pat McMahon (Mundelein), Jon Mikrut (Wauconda) and Mike Phelps (Lockport) all hail from Illinois. Doug Beatty and Stanley Finch traveled north from Texas while Matt Brimmer is from Iowa and Chris Davidson came from Michigan.
"We're extremely excited about this class," says Stevens. "A couple of these guys have the ability to play right away."
A season ago, Stevens started three true freshmen for most of the year.
"If they're good enough to play, they'll play," says Stevens about freshmen in the lineup. "Every position is up for grabs and the best players will take the field, no matter what their age."
Taking the field begins Feb. 14 as the team embarks on a 17-game nonconference schedule that starts in Arizona. NU also travels to New Mexico, Kansas and Missouri before concluding with games in Florida. The 28-game Big Ten schedule begins on the road in Columbus, Ohio on March 29.
"Our nonconference schedule will prepare us for the Big Ten season," says Stevens. "We play some good clubs that are comparable to a lot of the Big Ten."
NU finished 11-17 in the Big Ten, a game away from a postseason berth.
"There is a lot of parity in the Big Ten," said Stevens. "Any team can beat anybody on any given day. I expect us to be right in the thick of things."
