Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Travel to Ohio State in Pivotal Conference Series
5/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 13, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. - It's time to put up or shut up for the Northwestern baseball team. With just eight conference games remaining in the 2004 season, NU finds itself two games back of the coveted No. 6 spot in the Big Ten standings. The Wildcats will play all eight games on the road, beginning this weekend at Ohio State. Game one of the four-game series is set for 5:35 (CDT). NU takes on Michigan State in East Lansing next weekend. The top six teams at the end of the season advance to the Big Ten Tournament, hosted by the regular-season champion.
In the last two years, the Wildcats have made a habit of digging themselves into a hole early in the conference season, only to dig themselves out and qualify for the tournament. This season is following the same mold. Last weekend, the Wildcats took 3-of-4 from Illinois, but that was after losing 6-of-8 the previous two weekends. Now they trail Michigan (13-11) and Purdue (13-11) by two games in the standings.
A trip to Columbus hasn't always been the best remedy for Northwestern. In the past three trips to Bill Davis Stadium (which wasn't Bill Davis Stadium before 1997), NU is 1-11. The Wildcats and Buckeyes played a neutral site four-game series in Bradenton, Fla., last year, with each team winning two games. Overall, OSU holds a 70-39 mark over Northwestern.
Sophomore Mark Ori will try and lead the team to victory this weekend, bringing to the plate the Big Ten's best batting average. The Illinois native leads teammate Dan Pohlman (.398) by 49 points in the league batting race, coming into Friday's contest with an outstanding .447 Big Ten batting average. Not to be outdone is his overall average of .380, which ranks third. In six Big Ten weekend series, Ori has hit below .400 only twice and has not dipped below .300. In two other weekends, Minnesota and Iowa, the Niles West product hit better than .500 in each series. In NU's 24 conference games, Ori has 38 hits, which include nine doubles. Ori's 38 hits is ranked second in the league. All of this after starting the season 1-for-21 in the first five games.
Pohlman is almost as hot as Ori. The first-year catcher is second in the conference with a .398 average in 83 at bats. His conference RBI total (21), home runs (5), hits (33), total bases (55) and sacrifice flies (4) all rank among the top ten in the league. He has also thrown out eight potential base stealers in his first season behind the plate.
On the mound for the 'Cats, sophomore Dan Brauer took over the top ERA spot, and enters the weekend with a 3.03 earned-run average. The left hander has struck out 86 hitters in 77.1 innings, a strikeout total ranked second in the Big Ten.
The league's No. 1 K artist, junior J.A. Happ. He has sent down 91 batters in 76.0 innings pitched this season. He also has a 3.20 ERA.
Freshman George Kontos is coming off the best start in his young career last weekend. The right hander pitched a complete game shutout at Iowa, winning 3-0. He also tied his career high with seven strikeouts in the contest. He has thrown 47.2 innings this season.
