Northwestern University Athletics
NU Hosts Indiana in Home Opener
4/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 7, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -
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The Game
Sweet Home Chicago! Well, Evanston anyway. After 22-consecutive road contests, Northwestern's baseball team will play in the friendly confines of Rocky Miller Park. The Wildcats will host the Indiana Hoosiers in a four-game Big Ten series, with game one beginning at 1:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Indiana comes to Evanston after a Tuesday loss to Evansville and a 1-3 weekend at Michigan State.
The Wildcats did not play a mid-week game and are riding high after a 3-1 weekend at Michigan. It was the second-straight year NU opened the conference season on the road. As a matter of fact, NU went 3-1 at Indiana in 2005.
IU is led outfielder Jay Brant. The fifth-year senior is hitting .389 with three home runs and 10 RBI.; Senior Zach Boswell leads the club with 16 RBI, but is hitting just .215 in 18 starts. Outfielder Reggie Watson leads Indiana and the Big Ten with 20 stolen bases and his hitting .360. He has been caught just three times. Brant is second in the league, stealing 14 bases in 17 chances. As a team, IU leads the Big Ten with 76 swipes.
On the mound, Joe Vicini ranks sixth in the Big Ten with a 2.81 ERA in nine appearances. He has started only one game, but has thrown a total of 25.2 innings. Vicini and Chris McCombs each have two saves. Senior Josh Lewis leads the pitching staff with 33.2 innings pitched in six starts. He is 2-4 with a 6.15 ERA.
Northwestern enters the weekend on its first three-game win streak of 2006, winning the final three games in a four-game series last weekend at Michigan. It is the second-consecutive year NU has opened the Big Ten season 3-1.
Antonio Mulé continues to lead the `Cats at the plate. The New Jersey junior is sixth in the Big Ten with a .386 (32-for-83) batting average and he leads NU with two home runs and 12 RBI.
Senior Anthony Wycklendt hit .333 (5-for-15) last weekend at Michigan and drove in a team high three runs.
NU enjoyed its best weekend on the mound, posting a 2.90 ERA in its last four starts (the Michigan series). Junior Dan Brauer threw a complete-game, five-hit shutout for his first win of 2006. Junior George Kontos followed with his first complete game. Brauer leads the Big Ten with 41 Ks, while Dan Schwartz is tied for third in saves with three.
Projected Starters
C Pat McMahon (.210, 9 RBI, 2 2B, Sr.)
-OR- Geoff Dietz (.227, 2 2B, 5 RBI, Jr.)
1B Stanley Finch (.250, 8 Runs, 4 SB, Sr.)
2B Jake Owens (.272, 14 Runs, 2 3B, HR, So.)
3B Caleb Fields (.234, 9 Runs, Jr.)
SS Tommy Finn (.209, 9 RBI, Fr.)
LF Anthony Wycklendt (.238, 3B, HR, Sr.)
CF Aaron Newman (.238 13 Runs, HR, So.)
RF Antonio Mulé (.386, 2 HR, 12 RBI, So.)
-OR- Max Mann (.160, So.)
DH Antonio Mulé (.386, 2 HR, 12 RBI, So.)
-OR- Max Mann (.160, So.)
The Series With....
Indiana: Hoosiers lead 83-68-2
The Last Time: NU went 3-1 in Bloomington to open the 2005 Big Ten season.
Copy 'Cats
For the second-straight season, Northwestern opened the conference schedule with a 3-1 record. Last weekend at Michigan, NU won the final three games after dropping the series opener. In 2005 at Indiana, NU did the exact same thing--lost the opener and swept the final three.
Home Openers
Since 1996, NU is 6-4 in home openers, including wins in the last three years.
Sweet Home Chicago
NU has started the 2006 season playing 22 games away from its home ballpark. The schedule has taken the `Cats to Florida, Virginia, Kentucky (twice), California and Michigan. In those six trips, Northwestern has traveled a total of 10,310 miles, roundtrip.
Follow The Leader
Junior Dan Brauer threw a complete-game, five-hit shutout in game one of last Saturday's doubleheader at Michigan. NU won the game 5-0 and snapped a 12-game losing streak. Junior George Kontos followed Brauer's lead, pitching a complete game in game two. Kontos did not throw a shutout, but he gave up just one earned run on seven hits for a 4-2 win. It was NU's first two complete game of the season.
Siberio's Second Scenario
Senior right-hander Julio Siberio picked up his first win of 2006, throwing five-plus innings last weekend at Michigan. Starting his second game of the season, Siberio stayed true to recent form, striking out seven and walking none, putting NU is position for the win.Against Pepperdine, Siberio left the game after six innings, giving up just three hits in the process. At Michigan, junior Dan Schwartz took over in the sixth inning with a 5-3 lead. NU won the game 5-4. In his last two starts, Siberio has pitched 11 innings, given up nine hits and struck out 10. He has walked only two batters and held opposing hitters to a .209 batting average.
Future So Bright, Gotta Wear Shades
In the first 22 games this season, freshmen and sophomores have recorded a combined total 104 starts. See page five for starting lineups by position.
Fabulous Folan
In his last three appearances (3.0 innings), freshman Mike Folan has not given up a run and allowed just one hit. He has struck out three and walked one. Folan threw two-thirds of an inning at Loyola Marymount, one-third at Pepperdine and two complete innings in game one at Michigan.
Extra-Inning Affairs
Through 22 games this season, NU has played three extra-inning contests, all of which took place in the first seven games of the season. NU is 2-1 in those games, defeating South Florida (2/11) 2-0 in 13 innings and Virginia Commonwealth (2/18) 6-5 in 10 innings. The Wildcats lost to Louisville (2/25) 8-7 in 11 innings.
