Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Set to Spar With Spartans
4/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 3, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. -
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On The Road Again
Less than a week after returning from a 10-day spring trip to Bradenton, Fla., NU hits the road for its second four-game conference series. The Wildcats opened the Big Ten season with a series split against the Baseball America Big Ten preseason favorite, Ohio State. The Spartans opened league play in Minneapolis, Minn., losing all four games to the Golden Gophers.
The Last Time
The last time these two teams competed against one another was at last year's Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn. Sixth-seeded Northwestern prevailed, 4-2, over third-seeded Michigan State. In that game, the Spartans had a 2-0 advantage until Eric Roeder hit a solo home run in the eighth. NU plated one more run in the inning and two more off Spartan reliever Kyle Geswein in the ninth, for a 4-2 lead. Jon Mikrut threw a perfect ninth-inning for NU, striking out one in the first-round game.
All-Time Records
While the overall series mark of 33-69 against Michigan State shows Spartan dominance, the Wildcats have not had a losing record against MSU since 1992. Since then, the Wildcats have gone at least 2-2 every season, compiling a 13-10 record since the 1993 season. NU was 3-1 in 1996 and 2000 and 2-2 a year ago. The two Big Ten foes did not compete against one another in 1994-95 and 1998-99.
Mikrut Atop the Big Ten
Sophomore shortstop/closer Jon Mikrut is leading the Big Ten in hitting. The Carmel high school standout is hitting .431 with 10 multi-hit games and a team-leading 13 RBI. In five games a week ago, Mikrut went 9-for-18 (.500) from the plate, smacking his second home run of the season and not striking out once. In his 65 plate appearances this season, Mikrut has a team-low (for everyday starters) eight strikouts. He also has a team-leading .646 slugging percentage and .448 on-base percentage. Mikrut also has three sacrifice hits this season.
Extra Extra, Read All About It
As a team, Northwestern has 93 hits this season. Of those 93 hits, 46 of them have been for extra bases. Junior center-fielder David Gresky leads the way with five doubles while sophomore shortstop Jon Mikrut leads the team and the Big Ten with two triples. Junior left-fielder Dan Pohlman is atop the Wildcat home run list with three round-trippers this season.
Team Pitching
NU has pitched 152.0 innings so far this season. In those 152.0 innings, the Wildcats pitchers have given up 158 hits. Michigan State has pitched 182.0 innings, and given up 232 hits in those innings.
Playing the Field
As of April 3, NU was second in the Big Ten in fewest errors committed with 22. Only Penn State has committed fewer miscues on the field (17). The Wildcats have five games in which they did not commit an error, and they have had only one flaw total in their last four games and two in their last six.
Lay It Down Lieberman
As a team, Northwestern is averaging 1.1 sacrifice hit/fly per game. NU has 19 sacrifice hits or flies this season, while opponents have totaled 12. Leading the way for the 'Cats is junior third-baseman Josh Lieberman, who has four sacrifice bunts and two sacrifice flies in 18 games this season. His four sac bunts is tied for the Big Ten lead with Minnesota's Sam Steidl.
Big Ten Openers
For the first time since the 1998 season, Northwestern opened the Big Ten season with a .500 average, going 2-2 against Ohio State last weekend. In 1999 and 2000, the Wildcats went 0-4, being swept by Ohio State and Illinois. Since then, the Wildcats have been 1-3 every year until the series split this season in Bradenton, Fla. Coincidentally, the last time NU was 2-2 (1998), the opening series was against Ohio State.
Stepping In
Freshmen Dan Brauer and Mark Ori don't seem to be fazed by the transition from high school to college. While both will admit the talent level is very different, both are thriving at the opportunity to compete. Ori is third in the conference with an ERA of 2.21 in 20.1 innings pitched, while Brauer has a 2.60 ERA and two saves. Brauer, a left-hander has thrown 17.1 innings, striking out 22, while Ori has sent down 14. Believe it or not, these two are not just pitchers. Both hail from Illinois and terrorized high school pitching a year ago. This season, Ori has had a few more opportunities, starting 14 games as the designated hitter. He is hitting .288 in 59 chances with seven RBI. Brauer has had just nine plate appearances with one hit and an RBI.
Bean Ball
Senior catcher Ken Padgett has been hit four times so far this season. Those four plunks bring his career total up to 28, good for second on the all-time hit-by-pitch chart at NU. Neil Piacenti (1993-96) leads the way with 31.
From Deep In the Hole
Sophomore Jon Mikrut has started every game at shortstop this season and leads the everyday starters in batting average (28-for-65, .431), slugging percentage (.646), on-base percentage (.448), total bases (42), hits (28), RBI (13) and triples (2).
Streaking
Not only is Jon Mikrut leading the team in most offensive categories, the Illinois native is currently riding a six-game hitting streak, dating back to March 22 vs. Army. On the season, Mikrut has hit safely in 15 of NU's 18 games.
Mr. Consistent
Since earning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 17, junior right-hander Dan Konecny has been an example of consistency. So far this season, Konecny has logged a Big Ten-leading 44.1 innings, giving up 10 runs on 36 hits for a 2.03 ERA. Opponents are hitting a measly .224 as he has gone more than six innings in all six of his outings this season.
I Got Five On It
Senior first-baseman Travis Tharp had five RBI in one game earlier this season. Against St. John's-a game NU won 18-12-Tharp went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and five RBI. Tharp singled twice, hit a home run and was hit by a pitch in the game. The last Wildcat to have five RBI in a single game was Jason Krynski, who belted two home runs in a April 19 game against Penn State.
Finding a Fourth
Freshman Dan Brauer pitched the fourth game against Ohio State last weekend, winning 13-4. It was the first time Brauer had been used as a Game 4 starter. Until the Ohio State weekend, NU had not needed a fourth starter as all pre-conference series were only three games. The four spot, which was originally slated for Dan Pohlman, was turned over to Brauer on the saying 'you'll pitch Game 4 if we don't use you in relief in any of the first three games'; NU did not use Brauer in relief, and the Illinois native upped his record to 2-0 and dropped his ERA to 2.60 after pitching six innings in his first collegiate start.
Stevens vs. Mahan
Wildcat skipper, Paul Stevens, is in his 16th season at the Northwestern helm. Spartan head coach Ted Mahan is in his seventh year in East Lansing. In the six years these two head coaches' have been in the same league, Stevens owns a 9-7 record in 16 contests. The two teams did not play each other in 1998 or 1999. Stevens also owns a 1-0 record over Mahan in Big Ten Tournament play, with the 4-2 win coming last year in Minneapolis.
Multiplicity
Shortstop Jon Mikrut had a career-high eight-game hitting streak earlier this year. For the season, Mikrut has 10 games in which he has recorded two or more hits. Second baseman Eric Roeder and left-fielder Dan Pohlman each have six.
Shutouts
A year ago, NU played in seven shutout games. In those games, the Wildcats went 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. So far in 2003, NU is 3-1 with wins over Brigham Young (1-0), Temple (3-0) and Army (3-0). NU's lone loss came in its first game against Ohio State (1-0).
