Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Penn State
Baseball Wins Series Finale 4-2 Against Penn State
4/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 21, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern scored single runs in the first and third innings, while putting up two more in the fourth, to defeat Penn State 4-2 Sunday afternoon. On a cold, blustery day with temperatures in the low 40's, the Wildcats earned their fifth win in six games.
Senior left-hander Ryan Bos (Barrington, Ill./Lake Zurich) pitched seven innings of solid baseball in his eighth start this season. The Illinois native gave up two unearned runs while striking out five and walking none. Bos lowered his ERA to 2.89 and upped his strikeout total to 37 in 53.0 innings pitched.
Freshman Jon Mikrut (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel), who relieved Bos, threw the final two innings. Mikrut threw 22 pitches and did not give up a hit. He struck out one and faced the minimum number of hitters.
The 'Cats' first-inning run came courtesy of right fielder Brandon Ackley's (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) single to left field. Leadoff man Steve Haake (Belleville, Ill./Gibault) and No. 2 hitter Josh Lieberman (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) each singled to start the inning, setting up Ackley's at-bat.
In the third, second baseman Eric Roeder (Onsted, Mich./Onsted) lined a single down the left field line and advanced to third after a Haake walk and Lieberman's sacrifice bunt. The next hitter, Ackley, did not waste any time slapping a single through the left side, picking up his second RBI of the game.
The 'Cats picked up right where they left off, scoring two runs in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. Designated hitter Dan Pohlman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) reached on an error to start things off and advanced to third on center fielder David Gresky's (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Ignatius) double down the right field line. Catcher Ken Padgett (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe) followed with a sacrifice fly to left to score Pohlman from third. First baseman Travis Tharp (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) lined a single to right, bringing Gresky in from second.
The Nittany Lions scored two runs in the top of the sixth, courtesy of one PSU hit and two Wildcat errors. Leadoff hitter Mike DeRenzo doubled down the left field line and advanced to third when Wes Reohr reached on the first NU error. Chris Wright hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring DeRenzo. Reohr came around to score when designated hitter Brian Bishop reached on the second Wildcat error of the inning.
NU outhit the Lions 11-6 in the victory, with Ackley leading the way at 2-for-4. Ackley upped his RBI total to 21 on the season. Tharp and Lieberman went 2-for-3 while Jason Krynski (Niles, Ill./Niles West), Padgett and Roeder all had hits.
The 'Cats are next in action when they travel to Valparaiso, Ind., this Tuesday to take on the Crusaders in a single nine-inning contest.
