Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Purdue (Big Ten Tournament)
Wildcats Defeat Purdue 8-4; Play Michigan in Elimination Game
5/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 26, 2006
Box Score
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Facing elimination from the 2006 Big Ten Tournament, Northwestern's baseball team followed the arm of right-hander George Kontos to an 8-4 victory over Purdue. Kontos scattered 12 hits, struck out seven and walked none to give head coach Paul Stevens his 500th victory as NU's skipper. The win advanced NU to a 4 p.m. (CT) game with No. 1 seed Michigan. The Wolverines fell to No. 4 seed Minnesota 6-2 in Friday's first game.
In the game, designated hitter Dan Brauer (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) lined an RBI-double into left field to give NU a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Third baseman Caleb Fields (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) scored from first on the play.
Purdue tied the score 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning on three-straight singles off Wildcat starter George Kontos (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West). All three hits were groundballs through the right side of the infield. Sophomore Antonio Mule (Lodi, N.J./Lodi) did cut down one Boilermaker runner trying to go from first to third. He threw a perfect strike to Fields at third from his right field position for the second out of the inning.
Mule led off the top of the fourth inning with an absolute mammoth home run to straightaway center field. Listed at 400 feet, Mule cleared the 16-foot center field fence by approximately another 20-feet.
NU didn't stop there. After Fields reached on a throwing error by the Boiler shortstop, Brauer hit his second double of the game, this time off the left field wall. Fields scored on the hit from first. Brauer then went to third on a groundball out and scored when Max Mann (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood) lined a 0-2 pitch to right field for a base hit and a 4-1 Wildcat lead. After a Purdue pitching change, a bunt attempts and fly ball ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Purdue strung together three-straight hits, two of which were doubles, to score two runs and make the score 4-3 Northwestern.
Boilermaker reliever Brent Coudron entered the game with one out in the fourth and shut down the Wildcat offense. He did not allow a hit over the next two and two-third innings before Mann lined a single to right in the top of the seventh inning. Coudron did not miss a beat. An infield popout and strikeout ended the seventh for NU.
Purdue came out in the top of the eighth inning with its third pitcher of the game as NU extended its lead to 7-3. After Fields reached on a fielding error, three hits and a walk led to three Wildcat runs. The big blow came from Anthony Wycklendt (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) laced a bases-loaded single through the left side of the infield to score two. Fields also had an RBI single.
The Boilermakers used back-to-back, two-out double to make the score 7-4 in favor of the Wildcats after eight complete innings.
First baseman Pat McMahon (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel) lined an RBI single to centerfield in the top of the ninth inning to score Owens from second. Owens singled and quickly stole second to put himself in scoring position.
In the bottom half of the inning, Kontos mowed down the Boilers for the complete-game win. Kontos has now thrown 95.1 innings and struck out 84. The junior did not walk a batter in the game.
Offensively, Mule was 3-for-5 with his 10th homer of the season, while Brauer and Wycklendt each drove in a pair of runs.
