Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Host Wolverines in Big Ten Opener Starting Friday
3/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 29, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. - 21-11. That was Northwestern's Big Ten record one year ago. The Wildcats' 21 wins were the most Big Ten wins in any one season in school history. Only problem was, the University of Michigan finished 23-9 and won the Big Ten regular season championship, two games ahead of Northwestern. It did come down to the final weekend as Michigan swept at Iowa and the Wildcats split four games at Purdue.
Well, as Big Ten scheduling goes, the conference's top two teams from 2006 will lace up their spikes and throw the first pitch of the 2007 season this weekend at Rocky Miller Park in Evanston, Ill.
Michigan and Northwestern opened up the 2006 season at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor with NU winning three of four games.
U-of-M's last visit to Evanston was in 2002 and Northwestern won two of three games. One game was canceled because of inclement weather.
This season, Michigan is 11-6 and is riding a five-game win streak. Offensively, they are led by shortstop Jason Christian who boasts a .403 batting average starting all 17 games. He is tied for the Big Ten lead with 10 doubles. Not far behind is dual threat Zach Putnam. Putnam has played in every game and has a .379 batting average. He also has pitched in six games, starting five and is 3-2 with a 2.17 ERA in 29.0 innings pitched. He leads the team with 15 RBI.
Sticking with the offense, first baseman Nate Recknagel leads the squad with four home runs and is tied for the team lead with 16 runs scored.
On the mound, the Wolverines are second in the Big Ten with a 3.62 team ERA and third in total strikeouts (122). Lefty Mike Wilson is 3-0 with a 0.56 ERA in four appearances, which includes one start. Putnam is second and is followed by right-hander Andrew Hess. Hess is 2-0 with a 2.56 ERA in five starts. He has thrown one complete game. All three hurlers rate in the top-10 of most Big Ten pitching categories.
Defensively, the Wolverines have made just 14 errors in 17 games and have a Big Ten best .977 fielding percentage.
The Wildcats enter this weekend's games on a three-game win streak and winners of four of its last five. Freshman pitcher Joe Muraski got NU headed the right direction when he pitched a complete-game 4-2 win against Massachusetts back on March 20. Since then, NU has four of five games and head into the Big Ten season on a three-game win streak.
Third baseman Jake Owens is NU's hottest hitter, ending the eight-game spring trip with a .412 (14-for-34) batting average. He drove in nine runs and scored seven to go along with five stolen bases. Junior right fielder Antonio Mule also had a good spring trip, ending his eight games with a .393 average that included a pair of home runs. He drove in six and scored eight times.
