Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Penn State
Baseball Outslugs Penn State, 14-12
4/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 19, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Freshman James Happ (Peru, Ill./St. Bede Academy) threw the final two innings of NU's offensive showdown with Penn State to pick up his fourth save of the year. In a game that saw 26 runs, 33 hits and six errors, no lead for either team was safe.
Happ, who came in the game with the score 14-11, gave up one run in the eighth, setting the table for the ninth-inning drama. Down two with three outs to play, Penn State took advantage of three Happ walks to load the bases. With one out (a strikeout) Happ calmly struck out State's No. 4 and No. 5 hitters to end the threat and the game.
NU scored early and often, plating runs in five of its eight at-bats. It started in the third when junior first baseman Travis Tharp (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) singled to right but was quickly extinguished when sophomore designated hitter Dan Pohlman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) hit a ground ball to Penn State's second baseman for the easy put out. Pohlman moved up 90 feet on sophomore left fielder David Gresky's (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Ignatius) single to right. Both Pohlman and Gresky came around to score when junior catcher Ken Padgett (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe) smacked his team leading eighth double to right centerfield. Padgett moved to third on a throwing error by the PSU second baseman and crossed the plate on Eric Roeder's (Onsted, Mich./Onsted) safety squeeze, making the score 3-0 in favor of the Wildcats.
NU tacked on one more run in the fourth as senior center fielder Steve Haake (Belleville, Ill./Gibault) cranked his third round-tripper of the season, taking a first pitch fastball over the right field wall.
The scoring didn't stop there as the Wildcats recorded two more runs in the fourth, upping the tally to 6-0. Pohlman got things started with a leadoff double to left. After Gresky reached on an error, Padgett laid down a perfect bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Up stepped Roeder, who quickly lined a single to center scoring Pohlman and Gresky.
Penn State finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning, scoring four runs on five hits. The Nittany Lions weren't done there, scoring five more in the top of the sixth, taking a 9-6 lead.
Down three in the bottom of the sixth, Krynski entered the game as a pinch hitter for freshman third baseman Matt Brimmer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington). Krynski, who hit first home run of the year on Tuesday, drove a 2-0 pitch over the right field wall, making the score 9-8 PSU. Krynski stayed in the game to play third and eventually left field.
Penn State wasn't done there, they tallied two more in the top of the seventh, moving ahead 11-8. Starting pitcher Gabe Ribas (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) recorded one out in the seventh inning before giving way to Andy Adams (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Prospect), who crushed any Penn State hopes getting a first pitch double play to end the scoring threat. Ribas threw six and one-third innings, giving up 11 runs (four earned) in the no decision. Adams picked up his second win in as many games, becoming the pitcher of record in the bottom half of the inning.
In that half (the eighth), NU exploded for six runs on four hits to take a 14-11 lead. Ackley got things started with a one-out double to left center and advanced to third on two Wildcat walks. Ackley crossed the plate on a Penn State wild pitch, moving everyone up 90 feet. So, with one out and runners on second and third, Gresky laced a single to center scoring third-base runner Tharp and second-base runner Pohlman. Gresky was then forced out at second on Padgett's fielder's choice. So with two outs and Padgett on first, Roeder laid down a perfect bunt to third for his third hit of the game. Next came Krynski, who dazzled the crowd with a mammoth shot over the left field wall, giving him five RBI on the day. It was Krynski's third home run in the last two games.
The Lions recorded one run in the eighth before Happ's drama in the ninth. Northwestern improves to 12-18 overall and 4-8 in the Big Ten. PSU falls to 13-18, 3-9. The two teams are back in action tomorrow for a 1 p.m. doubleheader at NU's Rocky Miller Park.
