Northwestern University Athletics
2002 Season in Review
7/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 10, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. -
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For the second straight season, NU packed its bags and bused the eight hours home from Minneapolis, Minn., to end the season. But unlike the year before, the 2002 campaign didn't end after regular season instead, NU used a second-half surge to pull into the final spot for the 2002 Big Ten Tournament. The event hosted by the University of Minnesota at Siebert Field, turned out to be a showcase for the Wildcats as they knocked off No. 3 seed Michigan State Spartans (4-2) and No. 1 seed and tournament host Minnesota (5-2). The 'Cats ended the tourney with a 2-2 record, the second-best finish in school history behind only the 1984 team that went 3-2 and finished as tournament runner-up.
The 2002 season began much like the 2001 campaign. The team played its first 19 games on the road and came away with a 7-12 record that included a four-game series at Ohio State to begin the Big Ten Conference season. And, much like last year, NU fell behind in the conference standings early, dropping eight of its first 11 contests. Unlike the previous year, the second-half turnaround equaled a postseason berth. It began April 19 in a four-game homestand against Penn State. NU won 3-of-4 from the Nittany Lions and went on to win 11 of its next 17 conference games, including 2-of-3 from the University of Illinois. The Illinois series turned out to be the key, because when tournament selection time came around, both the Illini and Wildcats had identical 14-15 regular-season records. NU came out ahead of Illinois because of the team's head-to-head records.
"This team (the 2002 squad) showed tremendous intestinal fortitude in the fact that they never gave up," said head coach Paul Stevens. "They believed in themselves all year and their hard work showed the second half of the season."
Individually, senior left-hander Ryan Bos enjoyed his best season as a Wildcat, starting 13 games on the mound and earning third-team All-Big Ten honors. Bos was also the only Wildcat hurler to earn a Big Ten Pitcher of the Week accolade. Freshman J.A. Happ, also a left-hander, didn't need much time to adjust to the collegiate level, as the Peru, Ill., native was NU's only first-team All-Big Ten recipient. Happ ended the regular season leading the conference with a 1.52 ERA in 11 appearances and had four saves. First baseman Travis Tharp rounded out the Wildcats' All-Big Ten contingent, picking up third-team honors for his .338 batting average in 29 conference games.
With seniors dominating the pitching staff, right-handers Gabe Ribas and Zach Schara each found themselves atop the career lists for strikeouts and innings pitched. Schara ended his career with 289 strikeouts and 333.1 innings pitched, both career records. Ribas came on strong in his final season, ending his four-year career with 288 Ks and 330.1 innings pitched. Ribas also finished second all-time in games started (51)-Schara had 47, to go along with 24 wins-and ended with 21 career victories.
In 2002, Ribas finished fourth in the conference in strikeouts with 94, which is also the fourth-best total in school history for a single season. Ribas led the squad with an astounding 6.3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, walking just 15 hitters in 89.1 innings of work. The San Diego Padres noticed his accomplishments and drafted him in the 14th round of the Major League Baseball draft, 10 days after he was chosen to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. The 415th overall pick pitched 10.2 innings in Minneapolis, striking out 11 and allowing only two runs.
One of the major reasons for the Wildcats' second-half success was freshman shortstop Jon Mikrut. Mikrut started 55 games at the shortstop position, but his mound presence down the stretch put the Wildcats over the top. He ended the season without giving up a run and finished a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities. He pitched in nine games, totaling 14.0 innings, striking out 14 and walking one. At the plate, he hit better than .300 for the first half of the season and finished in the top three of most offensive categories.
Besides Mikrut, junior catcher Ken Padgett played a major role in the outcome of the season. Padgett led the conference in runners thrown out (29) and committed eight errors in 403 chances, an outstanding .980 fielding percentage. He also finished second to right-fielder Brandon Ackley in batting average, hitting at a .304 clip (Ackley ended the year with a .305 average) Padgett also tied for the team lead in home runs, smacking six round-trippers during the season. Joining Padgett with six long balls was Mikrut and designated hitter/first baseman Jason Krynski.
