Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Wired for Another Alabama Triple Dip
2/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 26, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Sweet home Alabama. At least it may seem that way for the Northwestern baseball team, which heads to Dothan, Ala. for the 2003 Wiregraph Classic-the second straight weekend NU plays a three-day tournament in the state. NU went 2-1 in last weekend's Coca-Cola Classic, hosted by South Alabama in Mobile. At 4-1, NU is off to its best start since 1998, when it also was 4-1 through five games.
NU opens play against host Troy State at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by a date with Temple (2:30 p.m., Saturday) and a game with Kansas State (11 a.m., Sunday).
Catcher Ken Padgett (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe) leads the Wildcats with a .500 batting average. The senior went 8-for-11 last weekend, recording six runs and five RBI. For his efforts, Padgett was named Big Ten Player of the Week, the second consecutive NU player to receive the honor-teammate Eric Roeder (Onsted, Mich./Onsted) was honored the previous week.
Junior right Dan Konecny (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) garnered Big Ten Pitcher of the Week accolades in the Wildcats' first trip (to Arizona at the beginning of the season), and he continued to impress last weekend. Konecny pitched 7.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits, walking one and striking out four to lead Northwestern to a 5-1 win against Southern Miss. Konecny is 2-0 thus far in two starts with a 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings pitched.
Troy State enters the weekend with a 6-4 record. The Trojans won their first five contests before dropping four of the last five. Wade Miller is provided some pop with team-bests of three home runs and 12 RBI. Left-hander Brandon Erwin and right-hander Doug Atkins have been solid in relief, with each picking up a pair of wins out of the bullpen.
Inclement weather has either postponed or cancelled the first five games for Temple, which has yet to play this year. The Owls return six of nine starters in the field and six of eight pitchers from a team that placed second in the East division of the Atlantic 10.
Kansas State, NU's last opponent this weekend, is 3-1. KSU's lone loss came at the hands of another Big Ten team, Illinois. Catcher Ryan Baldwin has led a solid Wildcat offense thus far with a .316 batting average and 12 RBI.
This weekend marks the first time NU has faced Kansas State and Temple. Troy State holds a 1-0 series edge against NU.
