Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Penn State
'Cats Lose Game Two In Extra Innings, 4-3
4/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 19, 2003
Penn State Box Score in PDF Format
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- For the third straight game, NU jumped out to an early lead as a pair of doubles in the top of the second inning gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Senior Travis Tharp (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) got things started, smacking his fifth double to the right-field corner. Classmate Brandon Ackley (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) quickly followed with a double to the right-center gap, scoring Tharp.
Penn State answered in the bottom half of the inning, as Mike Milliron followed a leadoff walk with a two-run home run over the left-field fence. The long ball made the score 2-1 Penn State after two complete innings.
The Nittany Lions went up 3-1 in the fourth as NU let an unearned run cross the plate on an errant throw to first on a bunt. Matt Harter hit a triple to right-centerfield that tipped off a sliding centerfielder David Gresky's (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Ignatius) glove. The following hitter laid down a bunt and starting pitcher Mark Ori (Niles, Ill./Maine South) threw it down the right-field line, allowing the runner to score from third.
Shortstop Jon Mikrut (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel) doubled down the left-field line in the top of the fifth for his second hit of the game. Ori, who reached on a fielders choice, scored on the hit, making the score 3-2 Nittany Lions.
The Wildcats tied the score in the top of the sixth at 3-3, when second-baseman Eric Roeder (Onsted, Mich./Onsted) hit an infield single off the shortstop's glove. Pinch-runner Doug Beatty (Bellaire, Texas/Bellaire) scored on the play. Beatty was running for first-baseman Jason Krynski (Niles, Ill./Niles West), who singled in his at-bat. Krynski replaced Tharp at first-base in the fifth inning.
Penn State had a chance to win in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with one out. Sophomore Chris Hayes (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), who came on relief of Wildcat starter Mark Ori (Niles, Ill./Maine South), got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat. PSU loaded the bases on a leadoff walk by Ori and two Hayes walks, one intentionally.
In the ninth, Penn State second-baseman Mike DeRenzo hit a one-out single to right and went to second on a Clint Eury single up the middle. Hayes, needing two outs to end the inning, got No. 4 hitter Adam Warchal to hit into a taylor-made double play to short. Mikrut fielded it cleanly, fired to Roeder at second for the second out and Roeder made an errant throw to first, allowing DeRenzo to score from second.
Ori threw six complete innings in the no decision, striking out five and walking three. Hayes pitched two and two-third innings, giving up the one unearned run and striking out 1.
The loss drops NU to 14-14 on the season, 6-7 in the Big Ten.
The two teams will wrap up a four-game conference series tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Beaver Field.
