Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Gone Wild!
3/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 18, 2004
Spring Break Games Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
EVANSTON, Ill. - After spending the last two weeks in the library and classroom for reading week and finals, the Northwestern baseball team is ready to step between the lines again and play baseball. The last 12 days has consisted of end-of-the-quarter final exams and, if they have time, volunteer workouts in the batting cages. With 12 games under its belt and 12 days off to fix early-season problems, NU is back on the road, this time to sunny Bradenton, Fla., for a nine-day, seven-game trip.
The Wildcats open their final nonconference trek with a 5 p.m. (EST) tilt vs. Miami (Ohio) on Friday, March 19. The RedHawks are in the midst of a murderous 10-game, seven-day road trip, also in Bradenton. As of March 18, MU is 10-6 overall, 4-1 in Florida. NU then takes on Vermont (3 p.m., March 20) and Wright State (3 p.m., March 21), before heading up to DeLand, Fla., to take on Stetson. The Stetson game is set for 7 p.m. at Melching Field on March 23. NU ends its trip with a three-game series against Ivy League member Dartmouth. Game one of the series is set for 1 p.m. on March 25.
In the first four weeks of the season, NU has been very jekyll-and-hyde through the first 12 games. On any given game day, NU could look like a top-25 program or a team needing to be more consistent. For example, in the first game of a three-game series with Florida three weeks ago, NU held the then-No. 18 Gators to a single run through the first eight innings. But a collapse in the ninth, including the game-winning grand slam, opened the door for the Gators to sweep the series and send NU home winless. Another example came two weeks ago at the Wiregrass Classic in Dothan, Ala. In the first two games of the four-team round robin, NU plastered opposing pitchers for 31 hits and 19 runs. In the weekend finale, trying to be the only team to end the weekend with a perfect record, NU managed just five hits in a losing effort.
But for all the up-and-down contests, NU keeps improving on a weekly basis. The 'Cats have showed improvement in some facet of the game every week since the beginning of the season. Now the effort needs to be more consistent, to make NU better team in every facet of the game. When that happens, and the chips all fall into place, NU will be force to reckon with. Maybe that day starts sometime this week in Bradenton.
Wildcat Tid Bits
* Junior J.A. Happ and sophomore Dan Brauer have combined to pitch 48.2 innings, each starting four games. Happ leads the left-handed duo with 30 Ks, compared to 24 for Brauer. Opponents are hitting a combined .185 in 173 at-bats.
* Starting all 12 games so far this season, senior Jason Krynski is taking full advantage of his opportunities. Krynski currently leads the team with a .354 batting average. Seven of his 17 total hits are for extra bases, including one home run.
* Junior Jon Mikrut has 11 saves in his first two seasons as a Wildcat. He is just six shy of the NU career record of 17 held by Greg Ziesemer (1994-96).
* Lefthander J.A. Happ is seventh on NU's career ERA list with a 2.90 earned-run average in 158.2 innings pitched.
* Sophomore Anthony Wycklendt has his picture in the 2004 NCAA Baseball Record Book for hitting safely in seven of his eight at-bats vs. Chicago State (4/15/03) last year. His seven hits in one game tied the third-best single-game total in NCAA history.
* Assistant Coach Tim Stoddard, who mainly works with the pitchers, is the only man in history to win an NCAA Basketball Championship and a Major League Baseball World Series Ring. Stoddard was part of N.C. State's 1974 NCAA Championship basketball team and a pitcher for the 1983 World Champion Baltimore Orioles.
* Head coach Paul Stevens and assistant coach Tim Stoddard met while filming the movie 'Rookie of the Year' in 1993. The movie starred Gary Busey and Thomas Ian Nicholas. Stevens and Stoddard were on the set as baseball technical advisors to the actors. Stoddard also made a cameo in the film as an opposing pitcher.
