Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Virginia Commonwealth
Wildcats Win 6-5 Extra-Inning Thriller Over Virginia Commonwealth
2/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 18, 2006
RICHMOND, Va. - Northwestern scored five runs in the final two innings to defeat Virginia Commonwealth 6-5 in 10 innings Saturday afternoon. Down 3-1 heading into the ninth inning, the Wildcats tied the game and scored three more in the 10th for the win. NU improved to 2-3 on the year.
With very little scoring until the late innings, VCU jumped ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run.
Junior left-hander Dan Brauer (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) started on the mound for the Wildcats and pitched five complete innings. He gave up just three hits and struck out seven in the no decision. Brauer also pitched five complete innings is his season debut last weekend at South Florida.
In the sixth inning, Northwestern tied the score when Stanley Finch's (Lubbock, Texas/Cooper) hit a bases-loaded, no-outs ground ball to second base. The groundout plated the run, but the Wildcats missed an opportunity to take the lead, leaving runners on second and third. A strikeout and groundout ended the Wildcat threat.
Junior Andrew Smith (Fort Mitchell, Ky./Beechwood) came on in relief of Brauer to start the bottom half of the sixth inning. The first batter he faced lined a triple to the left centerfield gap and scored on a ground out to Tommy Finn (Valparaiso, Ind./Andrean) at shortstop.
The score after six complete innings was 2-1 Virginia Commonwealth.
VCU scored its third run in the eighth inning as another lead off triple scored on another ground ball to Finn.
Then the fun started.
In the top of the ninth, starting third baseman Jake Wilson (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) singled up the middle and went to second when catcher Geoff Dietz (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) was hit by a pitch. Finn dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third with one out. Center fielder Aaron Newman (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) grounded out to first base, but scored pinch-runner Caleb Fields (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) from third to make the score 3-2 in favor of VCU. Second baseman Jake Owens (Stevens Point, Wis./Pacelli) beat out an infield single to tie the game at three each.
Smith held the Rams in check in the ninth inning, before giving way to junior Dan Schwartz (New York, N.Y./Northern Valley Regional) in the 10th inning. Smith pitched four complete innings and got the win.
But before Schwartz could take the mound, the Wildcats plated three runs-all with two outs-in the 10th inning. Dietz got things started with a two-out walk, went to second when Finn singled up the middle and scored on Newman's single to centerfield. Finn, who went to third on Newman's single, crossed the plate on a Rams throwing error. Newman went all the way from first to third on the error and scored on a wild pitch.
Schwartz, pitching in his fourth game of the season already, induced three fly balls to the first three hitters he faced. Problem was two of those fly balls were misplayed. Instead of three-up, three-down bottom half of the 10th inning; VCU scored two runs on one hit. Both runs were unearned. In his four appearances this season, Schwartz has not given up an earned run, struck out eight and walked zero.
The Wildcats and Rams wrap up their three-game series with a nine-inning contest tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. (ET)
GAME NOTES
Freshman Jake Wilson started his first collegiate game and went 2-for-4 playing third base.
Northwestern is 2-0 in extra-inning games so far this season.
Game time temperature was 36 degrees. The start time was delayed over two hours because of snow showers. Snow flurries started in the top of the ninth inning.
