Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Michigan State *
Wildcats Win Game Two, 9-3
5/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 22, 2004
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EAST LANSING, Mich. - After dropping a heartbreaking 12-inning 5-4 game one loss on Saturday, Northwestern bounced back, winning game two 9-3. NU used a balanced offensive attack, with four different Wildcats recording two RBI each. Sophomore Dan Brauer pitched his second complete game of the season, improving to 6-5.
Like they did in game one, NU jumped out to an early lead, plating two runs in the top of the second inning. Senior right fielder Jason Krynski hit his team-leading eighth home run over the left field wall. Krynski's two-out round-tripper was a solo shot. Following back-to-back walks to designated hitter Mike Phelps and second baseman Caleb Fields, senior third baseman Josh Lieberman lined a single to left center field, plating Phelps from second.
MSU got one run back in the bottom of the third, plating an unearned run. Right fielder Travis Gulick lined a single up the middle, scoring a runner from third. A passed ball put the runner on third, making the run unearned.
Krynski did not hold the Wildcat home run lead for long. Senior catcher Dan Pohlman hit a towering opposite field solo home run to right field, evening the home run race at eight each.
The Wildcats manufactured a run in the top of the fifth inning, as third baseman Josh Lieberman came around to score after leading off the inning with a single up the middle. With Lieberman standing on first, MSU made a pitching change to face the left handed Matt Brimmer. Brimmer laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, which was followed by a line-drive single to left field by shortstop Jon Mikrut. It was Mikrut's 40th RBI of the season.
NU wasn't done. With one out and a runner on first, sophomore first baseman Mark Ori was issued a free pass, bringing up Pohlman. The Illinois native came through in his second straight at-bat, lining an RBI double down the left field line. Pohlman's hit gave NU a 5-1 lead.
Left fielder Anthony Wycklendt then hit a chopping single over the Michigan State third baseman, bringing in Ori the final 90-feet. Krynski was the next to get in on the RBI act, hitting a fielder's choice to the shortstop, plating Pohlman from third. It was Krynski's second RBI of the game, and it gave the Wildcats a 7-1 lead.
After NU plated four runs in the top of the fifth inning, MSU answered with two of its own. Leadoff hitter Erik Morris hit a one-out two-run home run over the left centerfield fence. His 10th round-tripper made the score 7-3 Northwestern after five complete innings.
NU responded with a single run in the top of the sixth, extending their lead to 8-3. Mikrut drove in his second run of the game and 41st of the season.
In the sixth, Fields led off the inning with a lazy single to shallow left field, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Lieberman followed with a walk and went to third on Brimmer's line-drive single to right. Mikrut followed with the groundout, scoring Lieberman.
NU added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning, as a one-out single by Krynski came around to score. With Krynski on first and one out, pinch-hitter Doug Beatty laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving the senior to second. After a walk to pinch-hitter Chris Hayes, Lieberman delivered a two-out RBI single straight up the middle.
Brauer threw all seven innings, striking out five, giving him 96 on the season. He ends the regular season with a 3.02 ERA in 89.1 innings pitched.
Offensively, the Wildcats had 12 hits in the game, led by Lieberman's 3-for-3 day. He also scored two runs and had two RBI. Along with Lieberman, Pohlman, Krynski, and Mikrut each tallied a pair of RBI. Pohlman and Krynski each scored to two runs.
NU and MSU wrap up their four-game series with a single nine-inning contest at 1 p.m., at the Spartans John H. Kobs Field.
