Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Valparaiso
Five-Run Third Inning Gives Valparaiso 5-3 Victory
4/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 23, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Valparaiso Box Score in PDF Format
In his first start of the season, sophomore Evan Blesoff (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) pitched well enough to win. But a couple timely Valparaiso hits and a few Wildcat miscues, turned the tide, as NU came up short in a 5-3 loss to the Crusaders Wednesday afternoon at Rocky Miller Park.
The Crusaders scored all five of their runs in the third inning, using timely hitting and three Wildcat miscues to capitalize. And even though Valpo out-hit NU, 10-7, the Wildcats left 11 runners on base, seven of which were in scoring position. It was the second time in three games NU has left 11 runners on base.
Down 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth, center-fielder David Gresky (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Ignatius) hit his team-leading sixth home run of the season over the right-field fence.
The 'Cats tacked on two more in the sixth, as designated hitter Anthony Wycklendt (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) hit a bases-loaded two-RBI single up the middle, closing the Crusader lead to 5-3. That's as close as the Wildcats would get, managing just one hit the final three innings.
Offensively, Wycklendt continued to swing a hot bat, driving in his 12th and 13th runs of the season. The freshman has a .444 batting average and has played in only 12 games with 27 at-bats. Catcher Ken Padgett (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe) had two hits along with first-baseman Pat McMahon (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel). Padgett also threw out two base stealers from his catcher position.
Right-fielder Brandon Ackley (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) also had a hit in the game.
NU is next in action when they host Illinois for a four-game Big Ten series, beginning with a single nine-inning affair at 3 p.m. on Friday.
