Northwestern University Athletics
Baseball Travels to Iowa For Four-Game Set
5/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 2, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Talk about big weekends for both teams. Iowa trails Northwestern by one game in the conference standings. That one game could be the determining factor to see if the Wildcats or Hawkeyes make it to the 2002 Big Ten Tournament. NU has not been to the tourney since 2000, while Iowa hasn't made the postseason since 1990 when the Hawkeyes were the host. Iowa has won seven regular-season championships compared to two for Northwestern.
On Tuesday, NU dropped a midweek game to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 6-5. NU is 3-2 in midweek games this season and 9-11 in nonconference action. Freshman catcher Pat McMahon hit his first collegiate home run against the Panthers, while Jason Krynski continued to swing a hot bat by belting his fifth roundtripper in 10 games. In those 10 games Krynski is hitting .324 with 12 RBI. He is tied with junior Brandon Ackley at five homers apiece, tops on the team.
Two key offensive threats in the Wildcat lineup have gone silent of late. Leadoff man Steve Haake and shortstop Jon Mikrut are a combined 4-for-34 (.118) in their last six games. Mi krut, who had his average up to .305 after the Penn State series, has just one hit in 17 at-bats, while Haake-who led the team in batting average for most of the season-is down to .298. Both hitters are atop the team RBI list but have driven in just two runs since April 21 (six games).
The 6-5 loss to UW-Milwaukee was NU's 10th one-run loss of the season and the 13th one-run game of the year. A big reason the 'Cats are "in" these games is the pitching staff which has a 4.62 ERA in all games and 3.83 in the Big Ten. NU's 3.83 conference ERA is second only to Minnesota's 3.59.
Senior right-hander Zach Schara is leading the way with an overall ERA of 2.79 (3.71 in the Big Ten). Senior right-hander Gabe Ribas leads the team with 63 strikeouts.
Double the Fun
Brandon Ackley, Jason Krynski and Jon Mikrut have all gone deep twice in the same game this season. Ackley did it in Game 4 at Purdue while Krynski hit his pair in Game 1 vs. Penn State. Mikrut's were during a midweek contest at Chicago State.
This ERA Gets the Vote
NU's pitching staff sports a 4.61 ERA for all games this season and a 3.83 mark in conference play. By contrast, opposing Big Ten teams have a 5.14 ERA against the 'Cats. The overall ERA is third-best among conference teams, and the 3.83 against Big Ten teams is second in the conference. NU has served up 129 strikeouts to Big Ten foes, second only to Ohio State's 138.
Dynamic Duo
Senior right-handers Zach Schara and Gabe Ribas both turned in excellent performances last week against Illinois. Together they struck out 19 hitters and held the Illini to a .196 batting average. Ribas struck out a career-high 12 batters in Sunday's 3-1 victory.
Dynamic Duo, Part II
Schara and Ribas are also climbing up the career records list. They are tied for the career innings pitched record at 301.1, and are second (263, Schara) and third (257, Ribas) on the career strikeouts list. Schara is 10 K's away from tying the record set by Grady Hall (1983-86).
The Long Ball
NU has hit 31 homers this season, four more than all of last year. Of those 31 dingers, 15 have been hit in the last 11 games. Five of those 15 have been hit by sophomore Jason Krynski.
On the Road Again
Right fielder Brandon Ackley is happy to be back on the road again. All five of his home runs have been hit away from Rocky Miller Park-one at New Mexico, one at Saint Louis, one in Game 1 vs. Ohio State and two in Game 4 vs. Purdue. NU has a 1-3 record when Ackley leaves the yard.
Left Turn Clyde
Catcher Ken Padgett is lighting up left-handed pitching this season, going 8-for-14, a .571 average. Overall, the team is hitting .287, hitting safely 35 times in 122 at-bats.
The Situation Presents Itself
Second baseman Eric Roeder is 3-for-4 with the bases loaded so far this season. Junior Brandon Ackley is hitting .310 with runners in scoring position, while freshman Jon Mikrut is batting .302 with 10 RBI in the same situation.
Rally Hats
Northwestern used a three-run final inning to beat Penn State in Game 2 last weekend, helping NU win 3-of-4. Jon Mikrut's single to center won the game after a triple and a double. In Game 2 vs. Illinois, Travis Tharp hit the game-winning home run (his fourth homer of the year) in the top of the ninth to help NU win 2-of-3 from the Illini.
A Race 'To the End
Seniors Zach Schara and Gabe Ribas are neck-in-neck to see who finishes atop the innings pitched record list. Both pitchers have thrown 301.1 innings in their career, but Ribas holds a slight advantage in games started, 47-43. With Schara returning to the starting rotation against Penn State after a brief stint on the DL, the two have as many as four starts left in the regular season.
Like a Rock
Head Coach Paul Stevens has not had to worry about his starting pitching much in the last four years. At least not when it comes to Zach Schara, Gabe Ribas and Ryan Bos. The three have combined to throw 789.0 innings. Schara and Ribas have thrown 602.2 innings as four-year starters for the Wildcats.
Movin' on Up
Sophomore Jason Krynski is coming into his own the last nine Big Ten games, hitting .375 (9-for-24), knocking in nine runs and hitting five home runs.
Extra Bases
NU has 335 hits so far this season, and 105 of those are for extra bases (.313).
Takin' One for the Team
Junior catcher Ken Padgett has been hit by a pitch nine times this season. Those nine bruises make Padgett the Big Ten leader in hit by pitches. For his career, Padgett has been plunked 20 times in 105 games played. The single-season record for hit-by-pitches is 13, set in 1996 by Neil Piacenti.
Sacrifice Fly Guy
True freshman Jon Mikrut is second in the Big Ten in sacrifice flies. Through 39 games, the shortstop has five to his credit. He also has two sacrifice bunts.
Back By Popular Demand
Senior right-hander Zach Schara was out of commission with a broken right hand (his throwing hand) for nearly a month. The break was discovered March 16, and Schara returned to mound April 9 vs. Valparaiso. Schara returned to the starting rotation vs. Penn State.
Stepping In
Freshman Jon Mikrut has started 36 games at shortstop this season. The Illinois native is proving his defensive worth, turning 18 of NU's 27 double plays from his middle infield position. At the plate, Mikrut is coming into his own, swatting two home runs vs. Chicago State and boasting a .270 average. He is second on the team with 23 RBI, and 10 of his 33 hits have been for extra bases.
Young Guns
So far this season, six freshmen have toed the rubber in game situations. They have combined to throw 71.0 innings, with the bulk of those innings going to J.A. Happ (28.0) and Stanley Finch (18.0). Finch has seven appearances, including two starts. Happ has 14 appearances and four saves. Evan Blesoff has thrown 16.2 innings so far this year in 10 appearances and has one save.
Little Shop of Closers
Freshman J.A. Happ leads the team with four saves. He has thrown in 14 games and given up just seven runs in his college career. Sophomore Dan Pohlman has thrown 21.2 innings and tallied two saves. Freshman Jon Mikrut has recorded two saves, while Evan Blesoff has earned one.
Tough Luck
Senior left-hander Ryan Bos is getting the short end of the stick this year. With a 2-5 record, the Lake Zurich High School alum has already seen his share of tough losses. In 55.1 innings pitched, he has a 3.09 ERA and 39 strikeouts. In Bos' nine starts, NU has averaged 3.33 runs per game, while Bos has given up an average of 2.9 earned runs an outing.
No Free Passes
Senior pitcher Gabe Ribas started right where he left off last season, making people earn their way onto the basepaths. In 60.1 innings pitched (11 appearances), the Brunswick, Maine native has given up just 13 base-on-balls this season. On the flip side, he has struck out 63 for a 4.85-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Ribas ended 2001 with a 3.3-to-1 ratio.
One-Hit Wonder
Senior Zach Schara threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout vs. Saint Louis on March 8. NU won the game 4-0. He allowed just one single in the fourth inning, and struck out six while walking just one.
USA Baseball
This past summer, head coach Paul Stevens served as an assistant for USA Baseball. The team was made up of collegiate all-stars, which played 29 games in 40 days and compiled a 22-7 record, which included a 12-game winning streak. The Red, White and Blue Tour spanned two continents, two countries and 10 different U.S. states.
The Friendly Confines
Former major league pitcher and current Northwestern pitching coach Tim Stoddard showed off his singing abilities last summer on August 22, delighting a Wrigley Field crowd of 33,904 with his rendition of "Take Me Out to The Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. The former Cub brought close to 50 friends to the game, and his three daughters joined him in the booth to help him dazzle the crowd.
