Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Kentucky
Kentucky Sweeps Series; Wins Sunday Finale 10-3
3/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 5, 2006
Box Score
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Northwestern's baseball team dropped the series finale to Kentucky 10-3 Sunday afternoon, losing all three at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Antonio Mule and Stanley Finch each had three hits in the game. Mule ended the three games with a .615 (8-for-13) batting average.
In Sunday's game, both starting pitchers came out hitting on all cylinders. NU starter George Kontos (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) gave up just four hits in the first four innings, striking out four in the process.
Kentucky starter J.D. Dombrowski was equally as effective. Dombrowski scattered 10 hits over seven complete innings, giving up just one run and striking out three.
Catcher Tony Vercelli (Wilmington, Ill./Wilmington) delivered NU's lone run off of Dombrowski in the top of the fourth inning. Left fielder Anthony Wycklendt (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) hit a one-out single and moved to second on first baseman Stanley Finch's (Lubbock, Texas/Cooper) seeing eye single through the right side. Vercelli then knocked a 1-0 fastball between third base and shortstop, scoring Wycklendt from second.
NU's 1-0 lead was short-lived.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, UK exploded for seven runs on four hits. Kentucky took advantage of four walks, a hit batsman and a fielding error. Kontos faced the first four hitters of the inning, which included a three-run home run, before being lifted for lefty Dan Schwartz (New York, N.Y./Northern Valley Regional). Schwartz did not far any better.
In one-plus innings of work, Schwartz gave up four runs on five hits.
Kentucky native Andrew Smith (Fort Mitchell, Ky./Beechwood) took over for Schwartz after two of the first three hitters doubled and the third walked. Smith got a fly out and two strikeouts to end the inning. Smith pitched two complete innings of no-run baseball and gave up no hits.
In the top of the eighth inning, NU scored two unearned runs, taking advantage of a pair of Kentucky errors. Second baseman Jake Owens (Stevens Point, Wis./Pacelli) extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a leadoff double down the right field line. Mule reached on a throwing error by the UK shortstop, putting runners on first and third with no outs. Owens crossed the plate on another throwing error, this time to third base. Wycklendt followed with his second hit of the game, this time an RBI single left field. A ground ball double play ended the inning.
Freshman Eric Binder (Burr Ridge, Ill./Hinsdale Central) pitched the eighth inning for Northwestern. He gave up one run on one hit.
For the weekend, Owens hit .615 (8-for-14) with a double, triple and his first collegiate home run. He has hit safely in all 11 of Northwestern's game this season. Him and Mule went a combined 16-for-27.
NU is next in action when they travel to the West Coast for a nine-day, seven-game, Spring Break road trip. Game one at Santa Clara is scheduled for 2 p.m., Saturday March 18.
