Northwestern University Athletics
NU Travels to Indiana For Four-Game Conference Series
5/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 15, 2003
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EVANSTON, Ill. -
To Be 16
If Northwestern wins two games against Indiana this weekend the Wildcats will have won the most games in any single Big Ten season in school history. Dating back to 1898, when the first recorded Northwestern Big Ten game was played, only four times has a team reached 15 wins in a single conference season. All four 15-win seasons have happened in the Paul Stevens era. The years are as follows: 1989, 91, 93 and 95. In fact, NU has won 10 or more games in any Big Ten schedule only 13 times-12 of which have come under the direction of Stevens-including the last six.
Postseason Bliss
Instead of worrying about whether or not they are going to make the 2003 Big Ten Tournament, Northwestern instead will be playing this weekend for what seed they will receive. Even though NU went 1-3 last weekend at Michigan, the Wildcats clinched a spot in the postseason event when Indiana defeated Purdue twice on Monday. IU's doubleheader sweep made it mathematically impossible for the bottom four teams to overtake Northwestern in the standings.
At Indiana
Since 1988, head coach Paul Stevens' first year at the helm, NU is 5-10-1 when traveling to Bloomington, Ind. This season is just the fifth time NU will play the Hoosiers in a four-game conference series in the Stevens era. A pair of series splits in 2000 and 1995 are sandwiched around a Hoosier sweep in 1999. The only other time the WIldcats have played in Bloomington was 1991. In that series, Stevens recorded the only tie game he has on his conference resume. The game ended 9-9, and was called after 10 innings. NU finished 15-12-1 in conference play that season.
From the Left Side
NU's left-handed duo of J.A. Happ and Dan Brauer have a combined record of 12-6 so far in 2003. While Happ has thrown considerably more innings than the younger Brauer (73.2-to-50.1), Brauer holds a slight advantage in the team ERA race. As of May 15, Brauer has an ERA of 2.68 compared to 2.69 for Happ. The two have combined for 127 strikeouts, 45 walks and nine complete games. Happ holds the advantage in complete games (6) and strikeouts (84). The two ERA's rank second and third in the Big Ten. OSU's Scott Lewis leads the conference with a 1.35 ERA and a 9-0 record.
The Century Mark
Sophomore Jon Mikrut has started every game at shortstop this season (45 games) and 98-of-99 games he has played in his young collegiate career. Saturday's first game at Indiana will be his 100th start in a Wildcat uniform. The only game Mikrut has played in and not started was a 4-2 win over Penn State his freshman season. He pitched the final two innings of that game for his first collegiate save.
Double Trouble
Junior David Gresky has hit 42 doubles in his career, including 13 this season. While the single season record for doubles is 21, set in 1977 by Kent McQuire, the career record for two-baggers is 56. Gresky needs one more to join Joe Perona (1988-91) and Chris Beacom (1986-89) at No. 5 on Northwestern's all-time doubles list.
Sac Up
Junior Josh Lieberman has five sacrifice hits this season. For his career, Lieberman needs one more sac bunt to enter the top five of Northwestern's career sacrifice hits list with 15. Currently occupying the No. 5 spot is Al Quintana (1983-86) and John Stewart (1983-86). The single season record for sacrifice hits in one season is 11, set by Steve Geffner in 1995.
Hoover
Shortstop Jon Mikrut has made 12 errors this season. Six of those miscues came in NU's first 11 games, which were played on the road at neutral sites. Since then, the Illinois native has committed six errors (three throwing) while recording 125 assists and 68 putouts.
ERA
So far this season, three Northwestern pitchers have seen time in the top five of the Big Ten ERA list. Freshman Dan Brauer leads the squad with a 2.68 ERA in 50.1 innings pitched. Sophomore J.A. Happ is a close second at 2.69. Junior Dan Konecny sits at 2.93 in 83.0 innings, which happens to be the Big Ten's second-highest mark for innings pitched.
En Fuego
Since April 15 (21 games ago), junior David Gresky has hit safely in 32 of his 75 at bats (.427), including six home runs and eight doubles. In those 21 games, the Ohio native has scored 19 runs, driven in 27 and stolen six bases. Not to mention the fact he raised his overall average from .253 to .333. Gresky leads the team with nine home runs and 43 RBI, and both are also among the conference leaders.
Stevens vs. Morgan
Wildcat skipper Paul Stevens is in his 16th season at the Northwestern helm. Hoosier head coach Bob Morgan is in his 20th year in Bloomington. Indiana holds a 58-77-2 overall record and a 21-14-1 advantage since Stevens' inception into the league. Over Stevens' 16 years, the two teams have not met in six different years. Of the nine four-game series the Wildcats have played against Indiana in the Stevens era, they have won only one, that coming back in 2001 (3-1).
